Bass fishing today

[caveman]

After today's post, y'all will likely get a break for a couple of days.  I don't think I work again at the resort until Thursday.  My personal fishing plans for Monday are not going to come to fruition, due to us needing to find some good 16' pine logs to saw 160 or so 1x6's.

This morning's trip was three guides on three boats with three guests each for three hours.  We ran through nearly four dozen shiners on my boat in an hour and 40 minutes.  Each of my guests caught several fish.  The woman of the group was coachable and ended up with a 4, 5, and 7 lb bass along with several smaller ones.



This afternoon's trip consisted of four "buddy golfers" who wanted to fish.  The three fish pictured are a triple they caught at the same time.  The guy on the right got the biggest of the trip, but I did not take a picture.  This trip started slow, but the last hour was very good. 

[Magicman]

Nice, I really enjoy this Bass topic. 

[YellowHammer]

Here was my latest trip to Guntersville, this Wednesday.  This is why the average bass fisherman, like me, hates tournaments.  As I understood it, there were three of them practicing for the weekend. 

[barbender]

I have a disdain for fishing tournaments as well.

[aigheadish]

That lady caught a fish that no longer looked like a bass! Man, huge! I've got a buddy who will still go fishing occasionally and he's amazed at these fish, as am I. Monsters! 

[SawyerTed]

Kyle, those are some fine looking fish!  They sure are black on their backs.  In this part of NC and especially this time of year, bass will be green to gray across their backs. In eastern NC, we will see them much darker.  I suppose it's the tannins in the water.  

Tournament fishing is the antithesis of why I fish!   

Years ago I fished several king mackerel tournaments. King mackerel tournaments are as close to a bass tournament as you can get.  Did well enough a couple times to almost break even.  Otherwise it was hard work with very little return.  Even the receptions and parties weren't much fun.

The summer after I quit tournament fishing, I was fishing for fun just outside Bogue Inlet (Emerald Isle, NC) on a tournament Saturday.  

The tournament boats blasted by me as I was catching king mackerel.  I could guess they were headed 5 or 10 miles out to artificial reefs, wrecks or ledges and rocks that usually hold fish. 

I caught my limit within a mile of the sea bouy, two of the fish would have won the tournament in the 35 pound range.     I guarantee it burned less gas, had less invested in my day of fishing and had loads more fun!   

[caveman]

This morning, two other guides and I took out a corporate group that was supposed to be 12 men, but it got reduced to 10. The other two wanted to golf instead of fish.  I had three on my boat.  I took some pictures of their better fish.  The heaviest of this trip was just shy of 7lbs.  Erik (guide) had a guest catch one that was almost 9lbs.  The wind was howling out of the northwest with high, blue skies, but the fishing was really good.

This afternoon I took two men fishing for a couple of hours.  We had a slow start for the first 45 minutes, but they ended up catching quite a few.

[Larry]

Wow, your pond looks lots better than mind. Of course some of it might be your skill as a guide!

[caveman]

I had a couple of trips today.  We got quite a few nice fish.

[WV Sawmiller]

Where do you get your shiners? Catch or buy?

[caveman]

Steve, the shiner guy, supplies them.  He fishes local lakes and also some of the phosphate pits on the resort's property.  The pit shiners are so much better than most of those out of lakes.  I guess if the shiners make it to a size big enough to be adequate bait, they have avoided a lot of bass strikes.

I made a video of a leftover shiner that I tossed right by the shore in front of where I dock the boat following yesterday's afternoon trip.  Within 40 seconds, I was hooked up on a respectable fish.

[caveman]

I had one fish trip with five guys this afternoon.  We went through about four dozen shiners and everyone caught fish.  We did not get any trophy sized fish, but the action was pretty steady.  One spot that has been very good did not produce any.  It is different fishing five guys out of a boat than two-you have to ensure everyone has a decent chance to catch a fish.  We had two guides available, but they all wanted to be together.

This group was well lubricated (lots of beer) and not too good at keeping baits out of bushes.  I tied a lot of hooks on during this trip, but they tipped well, and all seemed to have a good time.  We finished up at the dock and they had nearly a dozen hits on live and dead shiners as well as a couple on artificial baits.

I did not have time to take pictures.  I walked over 17000 steps today and most were on the boat.  Sawing tomorrow.

[caveman]

My guests got a few good ones today.  The wind was up, which presented a challenge in the pontoon boat.  I debated taking the skiff this afternoon, but without a functioning livewell, I opted to take the pontoon. 

I don't go back down south until Friday (unless I get some trips).  I really need to saw anyway.


[/url+  I think all of the guests got their personal best largemouth bass today.
Grandson may need to miss another day of school to go fishing with the old man one day this week.  The weather is supposed to be good for the next few days.

[barbender]

Nice hawgs! 

[caveman]

My grandson, one of my best friends and I went fishing for a few hours this morning.  Tennyson pulled a pretty good one out of the hydrilla with a Zman chatterbait.  His casting was much improved over last time.  I need to get some line on my ultralite spinning setup that is more resistant to wind knots.  The reel he used most of today is a little heavy for him to continually cast.

We caught about 25 bass in the 2-3 hours we fished with the average probably around or slightly over three pounds.

My 6 y/o grandson took a pic of Jimmy and me with a double.  I did not realize until later that the one I hooked was bleeding quite a bit.  It swam off fine, so I hope that it will be okay.  Most of the fish we caught today seemed to be post-spawn.




I hate for him to miss school, but he learned about invasive species, wildfire, ospreys, elephants, bass, bleach, axles/spools, sonar, cattle, and a few big words.  I suspect that a missed day every once in a while, will be okay.

[SawyerTed]

Certain things in this world are "importanter" than school! 

A mental health day with grandpa IS ONE of those things!  

[aigheadish]

I always love seeing the posts with the grandson, and you got some good fish!

[WV Sawmiller]

Cavey,

   Great to see the grandson pics. 

   As to elephant training be sure he knows the udders are under the front legs rather than at the rear like a cow, deer or antelope or such. Most people don't know that. (Then again - how many people are gonna try to milk an elephant? )

[barbender]

My homeschooled kids get pulled for whatever fun stuff we feel like. Of course, the difference being that for them everything is where they left it, whereas if you're in public school the rest of the class leaves you a day behind. Either way, we'll worth it!