Strutting Gobblers and Spawning Bass - April 27th, 2011

Joe and I headed to Bluestone on a warm morning with heavy winds bringing in afternoon storms. We had talked about bringing a shotgun "just in case" a gobbler showed up on the bank, but we forgot it at home. So sure as the world, within the first hour we saw not one but two full blown strutting gobblers not even 25 yards from the boat. They had hens with them and weren't making a sound. They didn't even spook, the hens did, but they looked more interested in fighting one another. Leave your gun at home, see a bird guaranteed. It's just like if you forget your umbrella it's going to rain. We fished spinnerbaits, flukes, tubes,  and cranks on slide bank, bull falls, pit bank, and bertha bank with very little success.  I caught 3 bass (only 1 keeper) all on a fluke. Joe caught only one crappie on a Bandit 300. We got zero bites at bull falls despite fishing it hard. The one keeper I pulled in came from the cove at bertha campground. While we were back in there I saw 3 differnt 1 - 2 lbs. fish on the beds in very shallow water despite the stained water color. It's the first time I can remember seeing fish on the bed at Bluestone. We didn't harass them, but after they spooked, they would return within seconds and go back to fanning the nest. If you ever wondered when they spawn on Bluestone, now you know. At least some of the bass up there are in the full blown spawn right now.

 

The Incredible, Edible, Fluke

  I first heard of "Flukes" in 1999 at a WVU Archery Club meeting when some guys were talking about how the bass were just "killin em". Back then my bass fishing was only river smallie fishing from May -August and consisted of only G-tails, small cranks, and in line spinners. 90% I threw a random colored G-tail on a 1/8 oz. non painted jig head. I caught good numbers of small fish on the New, Greenbrier, and occasionally the South Branch of Potomac when I went to see my then girlfriend now wife in Petersburg, WV.  I bought some flukes after hearing about them and had no luck with them because I had no idea how to rig them let alone fish them. Later in 2006 when I was starting to sink my teeth into fishing lakes Greg taught me how to rig them and fish them in the tradition walk the dog manner. Since then I have been in love with them. I have fished nearly every color and every brand available(Zoom, YUM, Strike King, Trigger X, Berkley, Bass Assassin, Gulp, Lake Fork, Basspro, Yamamoto, etc.) and have landed some of my best fish with them.  I rely of flukes heavily because they let me draw a reaction bite, while fishing quickly, through very heavy cover. It's almost like you mated a spinner bait and a senko and a fluke was the offspring.  I love the fact that you can fish a fluke slow or fast and catch fish either way.  I have come to some basic observations in my fluke fishing experiences. Yours may vary but these rules are field tested and really work well for me.
1) White is the only color you need.
2) They must be fished on Mono to get the right sink rate unless you are Carolina rigging them
3) The 5 inch run best on a 4/0 skipgap hook
4) The fluke jr. catch more fish due to their smaller size leading to great % hook-up but don't usually get the big bite as often.
5) Texas rigged and fished in the middle of cover produces best.
6) Yum Houdini get best % of hookups with a close 2nd being Zoom, and  3rd is Strike King  3X but they are almost a top water bait. The Zooms are a little stiffer and have less give this sometimes deflect hits. YUM has the best blend of scent, texture, and size. I get about 20% more hook-ups on hits with YUM vs. anything else.
7) Fishing them on a bait caster gives them a fast rhythm retrieve and makes them fish like a totally different bait. I sometimes have 2 poles each with flukes tied on at same time on my deck. One on a 7ft. MH spinning rod for a slower more finesse retrieve and a 2nd fluke on a 7ft. H bait caster for burning through the heaviest cover.
8) When fishing open water they can effectively be double rigged with the use of 2 barrel swivels. Put one swivel free sliding above the 1st giving each fluke about 24 to 30 inches of leader.

Final Day Bugg's Island Day 7 - April 24th, 2011

With everybody else either home or heading home, Joe and I headed back out to Rudd's and pounded Striper cove and  Catfish cove in panhandle branch. We caught 21 fish from 7am till 12:30pm before heading home. We only caught 2 fish under 12 inches. The largest was a 2.8lbs.that  Joe caught. Although we didn't catch any huge fish we caught, missed, and lost some really quality fish over the course of the morning. I was real sad to be leaving Kerr and heading back to the every mysterious Bluestone lake.


2.8lbs. LMB



The final week totals came out as follows. Greg and Todd landed 149 bass. While Joe and I boated 128 LMBs.  Two bass boats and four fulltime bassfishmen landed 277 bass in six and a half days of fishing. While we did not catch anyting larger than 3.5lbs. still not a bad week in my book. I am already counting down till next years trip.                                                                                                                                          

Buggs Island Day 6 - April 22nd, 2011

Finally with some clouds in tow Dad and I headed off to Rudd's Creek and fished in Butchers Creek again. I got off to a great start, catching a 3.2, 3.1, and 2.8 in first hour. I went on to catch 7 fish over 2 lbs in less than 5 hours of fishing. I did best in striper cove on flukes. In fact all my fish came off of flukes. About 11am the wind picked up and the bites slowed, which is the opposite of what usually happens at Kerr. In one cove in panhandle branch we even come up on a hen turkey. Around 1pm it started pouring and we headed back to the house. It rained so hard that we stayed in the rest of the day. Joe and I drove down to the dam and looked around before returning to Clarksville and ordering in some pizza.





3.2 LMB via Fluke



3.1 LMB off of a laydown.





Got a livewell but don't keep fish ever? Turn it in to a trash well with a wine cork like me!



Buggs Island Day 5 - April 21st, 2011

Yet another Beautiful Sunrise from the Rental House.

My First Underwater shot with my New Camera. More to Follow.



Me in my Happy Place Pitching a Fluke.



Another day of assaulting  Rudd's and Panhandle Creek with flukes again today. More worm weather with less wind and a little less heat. I ended with 13 all on flukes, Joe got 11 and Greg and Todd boated 32 mostly of fluke jr.s. The cloud cover helped the bite pick up some today.

Buggs Island Day 4 - April 20th, 2011



Another Kerr Sunrise that brougth in  more "Beach Weather"




Ivy Hill Fluke Bass




Dad's Prized Toothey Critter



The 40lbs. "mystery cat" The pic doesn't do it justice.

  Dad and I headed out to Ivy Hill along with Greg and Todd. We fished Ivy Hill beach coves for about an hour where I caught 3 and lost 2 more on flukes up real shallow in the very back of coves deep within the shade. Then we headed over to Panhandle Creek were Greg and Todd were. Despite being in the same "creek" as them for more than 4 hours I never saw them. I continued to pick up fish in the shade, towards the back of the coves, anywhere out of the heavy wind with flukes. Dad caught a nice pickerel, a bass, and lost another bass on a green pumpkin Texas rigged lizard. Around noon Dad and I saw an very odd very large cat in a quiet cove. It finally ran off. If it was a bobcat it was really orange and if it was a house cat it was huge. I have two  15lbs. +  house cats and this thing was lean and had to weigh twice as much either one of them. About 1pm Dad started getting tired from coping with 85 degree heat so we went back to the house. Roger and Joe had just got back from crappie fishing where they caught only 3 crappie and a catfish. Joe and I reloaded the cooler with drinks and headed off to Rudds Creek. We fished a solid 4 hours and hammered fish around butchers creek and the coves down river from them until about 5 when a bites just stopped. We caught all our fish off of flukes. I ran out of YUM Houdini Shad and had to resort to using Zoom's since Bobcat's was out of them. I hooked a large pickerel but he broke me off just about as fast as I could set the hook with his teeth.

Afternoon LMB from a State Park Cove. 

Buggs Island Day 3 - April 19th 2011

Dad and I headed out to Ivy Hill along with Greg and Todd. We fished Ivy Hill beach coves for about an hour where I caught 3 and lost 2 more on flukes up real shallow in the very back of coves deep within the shade. Then we headed over to Panhandle Creek were Greg and Todd were. Despite being in the same "creek" as them for more than 4 hours I never saw them. I continued to pick up fish in the shade, towards the back of the coves, anywhere out of the heavy wind with flukes. Dad caught a nice pickerel, a bass, and lost another bass on a green pumpkin Texas rigged lizard. About 1pm Dad started getting tired from coping with 85 degree heat so we went back to the house. Roger and Joe had just got back from crappie fishing where they caught only 3 crappie and a catfish. Joe and I reloaded the cooler with drinks and headed off to Rudds Creek. We fished  a solid 4 hours and hammered fish around butchers creek and the coves down river from them until about 5 when a bites just stopped. We caught all our fish off of flukes. I ran out of YUM Houdini Shad and had to resort to using Zoom's since Bobcat's was out of them. I hooked a large pickerel but he broke me off just about as fast as I could set the hook with his teeth.



Bugg's Island Main Lake Sunrise




A fluke bass from the flooded Gum Trees.




Harbor Bass






Buggs Island Day 2 - April 18th, 2011

A nice keeper from a Senko across from Longwood campground



  Joe and I headed off to Grassy Creek and fished all the usual spots we normally fish  in an effort to figure out just what the fish were doing. Again we were greeted by the high skies, loads of sun, and heavy wind. What a man would pay for some cloud cover. We did manage some fish form Little Beaver Creek, Essex Branch, Longwood campground, and Beaver Creek. I ended up with 10, Joe got 7 and Greg and Todd got 17 between the 2 of them. The fishing was still post cold front and tough with lots of wind. Most of our fish came off of shakey heads and flukes although we did catch a few off of senkos.

Buggs Island Day 1 - April 17th, 2011

Dad, Roger, Greg, Todd, Joe, and myself arrived in Clarksville,VA for our annual Buggs Island trip around 10:30am. Dad and Roger came down to crappie and bass fish while the rest of us were pursuing bucketmouths. The forecast for the weeks was sunny and very hot. Their had been a cold front their on the day before and when we arrived we found the dreaded high sky blue birds and heavy winds. After getting checked in our house we headed off ironically to Bluestone Creek, drive all that way only to head off to Bluestone.  Joe and I ran out to the main lake and tried cranking some rip-rap with not luck. I thought maybe if we fished deeper than 5 feet we wouldn't be as affected by the high skies. We did find a few in main lake pockets, cuts, and coves, but the main lake was pretty slow. Joe picked two up a jig-n-pig shallow, I caught two on squirrel tail worm shakey head. We caught several good fish in and around Ochonochee harbor. I think it's because many tournaments have their weigh-ins their and "restock" the harbor frequently on weekends. It's a cheap way to catch fish I know but I'm not above it. I ended up with 5, Joe with 5 all large mouth.  Joe did hook and lose a big chain pickerel on a jig that broke him off.  Greg and Todd found a good spot off of a main like point and ended up with 20 some fish off of shakey heads and spinners.

The first fish of the trip.

High Skies and Falling Water - April 14th, 2011

  I fished Bluestone alone from 10am to 2pm. The dam was pulling water running 14 gates and it was the dreaded post cold front blue bird skies that I love so much. Water surface temps ranged from 55 to 60 degrees.  I tried fishing Bull Falls but the current was so heavy up there that you couldn't effectively fish slow even with the trolling motor wide open. I did manage one 10 inch smallie on a squirrel tail worm rigged shakey below Bertha in about 6 feet of water. Other than the one fish I got no other bites. I talked to Brian Ball out on the lake he to had only caught one fish down around the dam on a crankbait. He had tried a spinner bait in the stained water with no luck. Another bass fisherman I talked to in the pits had struck out on throwing flukes below the pit bank. Then again I knew today's conditions would make for tough fishing anywhere except a farm pond. There is some hope for me though, my next stop will be Buggs Island Sunday morning.

Bluegills in the Warm Sunshine - April 10th, 2011

Brad, Bella, Melissa, Avery, and I headed up to Lowell to do a little bluegill fishing on a warm sunny Sunday afternoon. We all cuaght several bluegills and the girls had fun. Bella caught her first fish. We used worms and bobbers in the shallow end of pond.

Avery's 1st catch of 2011



Bella's first ever fish. Congrats Bella.



Shanklin's Shines Again - April 9th, 2011




My best work in a long while. 5.0lbs. Smallie via black tube

 



 

1.7lbs. Smallie who fought as hard as the 5 pounder.

Thank the Lord it's Spring Flowers.




3.2 lbs bass also via black tube.

 

 Brad and I fished from his renovated Jon boat turned bass boat on the New from 12 till 4pm. The thunderstorms cut our day short or I believe we would have had more fish pics to show. The water was way high and rising even more from last nights thunderstorms. We had air temps in the 60's and water temps in the 50's. I started the day off right on my 3rd cast catching a 5.0 lbs. small on the digital scales. He came off of a black tube out from a ledge right underneath my feet.  I having been dreaming about a fish like him all winter long. We worked 4 other familiar spots catching fish on 2 of them before the weather cut out trip short. If it had just been rain we would have carried on but the strong lightening sent us packing long before we wanted to.

Mountain Valley Lake - April 8th, 2011

Greg and I fished out of the Crawdad from 10am till 4pm boating only 4 bass. All of your fish came off of squrriel tail worms ran on shakey heads. We missed a few more. I caught 3 and Greg caught 1. Greg had the big fish at 2.8lbs. We thought we would pick a few more up but they just didn't want to feed very well today. You might come back tommorow and do great. But post cold front they seemed a little unwilling to hit well.

2.8 lbs. Bass by Greg Nahodil



A less then 2.8lbs. Bass by Austin



Todd's Big Bass Bonanza - April 4th, 2011

On a day with rising water, warm air, a front coming, and some big fish having been caught in last 7 days Todd and I fished Bluestone Lake from 9:30 till 3:00. In epic fashion Todd went off with his Shakey worm. He caught a 6.3 lbs monster LMB that was 22 inches long with a gerth of 16.5 inches. Then he turned around and caught a 3.1lbs, followed by a solid 1.5 lbs. smallie keeper, and then finished it off with a 4.0 lbs. bucket mouth.  As for me, well I mostly drove the boat, netted Todd's fish, and took pictures.



Todd's 6lbs 5oz. monster LMB



Notice the 16.5 inch girth on this fish.

Click on this pic and look closely at this fish's bulging eyes. This was a big fish.



3.1 lbs. LMB



4.0 lbs. LMB

 In the last 7 days Greg caught a 7 lbs.. 9oz. giant of a LMB, I caught a 4.4 Smallie as well as a 4lbs Rainbow, and Todd has caught these fish along with a 4.5 lbs. LMB yesterday.  The last week of March into the first week of April is making a real strong case for being the best big fish week of the year so far.

Last Remaining Light - April 3rd

Sunday after work I fished the Greenbrier below the house for an hour. I lost 3 tubes and caught this 2.6 lbs. small beside a large underwater boulder in about 6 feet of water. He hit a 3 inch green pumpkin tube.