Lanark Dock Pitching

5.26.11
Tide: Incoming
Water: Clear, 82 Deg.
Sunny and warm (what else?)

Headed down to Lanark on a solo trip this morning.  Figure I would try the incoming tide for reds.  If I fell out of the boat I could wade to shore.

The water is very clear there, very pretty and lots of weeds.

I started at the FSU marine lab.  While there was a TON of bait there, I couldn't get anything to bite.

So as it got closer to high tide, I figured I would do the ol' Lanier method.
I tied on an 1/8 jig head and a gulp shrimp and started fishing covered docks.  While there aren't many, I did manage to find a few.

I caught three of these guys off one dock.  15-16 inches, not big, but nice fighters.

I caught another one a few docks down the shoreline.

I'm sure there are bigger ones around, but the water temp is now 82 degrees.  Just last week it was 74 degrees.  I didn't see any trout.

I did see two tarpon roll just west of the FSU lab.  I also saw some guides out on bird island polling along.  So, I'm assuming they are targeting the early tarpon.  Might have to get in on that next week after the crazies leave the water after Memorial Day.

Catching Up at Lanark and the OR

5.26-5.28.11
Water 72 degrees
Wind, light

Well we finally got back home after traveling with the Rhode College Lynx baseball team this winter/spring.

Hunter, Charlotte, Nancy and I decided to try Lanark for some new water fishing.  As it usually goes when fishing a new area we had mixed results.

Charlotte had the most luck, whether it was having a fish spool her on the beach at Dog Island or catching dinner on the grass flats a Lanark, she was in the mix most of the time.

We ran from the beach at Dog Island to the barge 5 miles out and back to the flats off 98 and didn't do real well.  We hit a low tide most of the day and the water wasn't moving too well.  So, that's my excuse.  

We hit the water Friday morning and had some decent results here at the OR mouth.

This last picture shows Hunter with the first fish he caught with his new Loomis rod and Stradic reel he got for his graduation.  (Thanks Nick). Well, it's the first fish he caught that he will claim.  It seems I remember some ladyfish and some blue runners in the mix that may have been the first fish caught on the set up.

Doug came up and we put together a nice evening trip on the bars in the river.  They were eating the lead heads with gulp pretty well.

This picture was the last cast.  What a battle in the swift outgoing tide.

Doug and I planned a trip Saturday morning that included a stop at 2 flat, Ochlockonee shoals, 24 marker, and the cobia run. This run was jinxed from the start as a wire came loose from the depthfinder.
As we stopped at 2 flat and as I was fixing the wire all I could hear was Doug saying got him, missed him, got him, $%#&.  Oh, the last quote was mine.

He was banging the spanish on top on the bonkadonk.

Little did we know this would be as good as it got Saturday.
I broke a rod tip, had my good jerkbaits bitten off, and mostly removed the green slime that is growing in the waters near shore to off shore.  What the heck is up with that stuff?  It makes it very difficult to fish about any bait/lure.

Oh well, we got to smoke some filtered Swisher Sweets, what a treat.

Nice to get back out and fish again.  Will be settling in now, and be more consistent on my posts and hopefully on my fishing results.

Graduation Party Quick Pics at Horseshoe Lake

5.19-5.22.11

We came up for Hunter's graduation from Rhodes college.  Had the whole clan in from Texas, Ohio, Florida and Maryland.

It was cool, cloudy and windy during the days at the Shoe, but we managed to wander out on the dock.  We caught quite a few crappie for the conditions, but a couple of good ones were brought in like these below.

Both of these were caught with the ol' tube jig and a chartreuse crappie nibble.  Those things are dynamite.

We did real well as bank trash up on the Shoe.  I can only imagine how well you can load the boat if you had one.  I probably will never fish there again, but the folks in that area should be happy they have such a good lake near a major metropolitan area.

Oh, I saw the alligator picture of the big lizard in the canal on the east side of the lake across from the house we were staying.  Mamas don't let yer babies go swimmin'!

Quick Trip

5.11.2011
Water temp: 79 deg
Tide: high
Air: high 70's

I got out for a quick trip and headed for the flat near the clam bar.
I wanted to try some of the Gambler Big EZ swimbaits that I had used at the Big O this past winter.
I found some big weighted 8/0 swimbait hooks and thought I could lure up some bigger trout is they were out there.
I expected to see the glass minnows out on the flat, but with the chop and the lack of birds I don't think they were there in any abundance.
But, I first picked up my old reliable bait, the XPS jerkbait and on the first pass I nailed this 19 Inch trout.

After determining there were some fish present after this catch, I committed to the Big EZ.  I was fishing it on Suffix 30 lb. braid with a 30 lb. leader in case some spanish wanted to take it from me.

On the first cast I had this beautiful trout just clobber the Big EZ in copperfield color.

This fish had some nice big shoulders and measured 22 inches.  

I had two other fish one and one follower that committed to the bait.  But, being kind of lazy, I tried swinging in the boat the ones I had hooked and the pulled off.

It was a very successful start to an experiment that worked.

It Was a Slayin'

4.14.11
Tide: Incoming from low
Time: mid to late morn
Temp: Air 70's Water 72

Nancy and I got out on the salt after a hiatus of watching Hunter play baseball.  And it was on.
I heard accounts of spanish so thick you could walk on them.  So, we have a new recipe we wanted to try out that required one of those oily guys.  It didn't take long after departing the Panacea Marina ramp.  We put in there due to the low tide and not wanting to figure out how to get our trailer off the end of the Mashes Sand ramp on our first time out this year.  I know I will drop it off the end of the ramp sooner or later, but why do it on the first trip!

We headed out to the barrel, which isn't there anymore, and soon saw the spanish busting everywhere.  They were very prominent on the backside of the flat by the barrel.

It wasn't long and we got our first salt fish of the year and our dinner for today.

We played with these fish for over an hour, they were supercharged and chasing glass minnows all over the place.  We also saw a big shark come in on the action.  We landed about a dozen of these and had many cut offs from their sharp choppers.

I was waiting for the wind to die a little so we could go over to the mouth or the OR.  I was thinking about the big trout that we seem to get every year there.  The thought of them eating a jerkbait got me moving.

We eased our way in to our favorite oyster bar and Nancy soon lost a really good trout.  I was throwing the jerkbait, but the water was moving fast.  So, is started casting a white gulp on an 1/8 oz. jighead and it was a non stop catch fest.

I caught this nice trout:

Then I followed up with this 6 lb. red. What a fight in the quick moving water!

Then after catching 5 more trout on six casts, Nancy said she wanted what I was throwing.

She then hit paydirt.

The trout moved from the front of the bar and we proceeded to land 3 puppy reds in a row.  We slid around to the side of the bar and I caught three more trout on a white jerkbait, reeling it real slow as Hunter taught me two years ago.

We only fished here about an hour before heading in.  We caught 10 trout all 18"-19".  The four reds.  A few lady fish.  These added to the numerous spanish we caught at our first stop made me say, "I love this time of year!"

Horseshoe Lake Arkansas Fishing March 28, 2011

Finally got some time to do some fishing at the Shoe.  The big bream were biting today.  Caught them on a white tube jib with a crappie nibble. Caught some nice crappie also, but returned them to the lake.

I talked to a bass fisherman who said he had caught two four lbers. and a couple of two pounders and figured I would give it a try.  I caught this nice 14" bass on my third cast.

I believe if you had a boat and weren't bank trash like me, you could have a heck of a day on the water here at the Shoe in late March!

Tide Creek Landing Bass Bonanza

I wanted to try out a new reel I purchased at the Bass Pro Shops in Macon.  I had an idea I could catch one of the bass we put in our community lake last year.

So, I tied on the Skinny Dipper that we used at the Big O and biked over to the lake.

On the first cast I caught this one, much to my surprise.  I have fished the lake once in a while and have never caught anything or even had a bite.

 A few more casts and this little guy hooked a ride on the Skinny Dipper.

I caught one more and determined there were more in the lake than the two we put in last year.  Two others jumped the hook and I missed another 3 bites.

Fun!