I did my usual dawn launch and headed to Walton's. It didn't take long to get the first bite. A little past the WC1 marker on the left and the fish bit. A 21" who thought he was bigger. A nice start. The cloudy weather had me hoping for some surface action but I never saw any all day.
So I kept trolling up the left side past the Virginia Dare. Whammo! In ten minutes I boated a 19". I threw him back with the specific instructions to call his mother over. He didn't. I wasn't marking any schools or groups but I was seeing some few scattered fish. Kapow! Another ten minutes, another fish. Someone's baby brother at 14". Didn't even know he was on til I looked at the bobbing rod. Hey, it was action. I got as far back as I could and started a u-turn. Bang! Another ten minutes, another fish. A little better at 20" but surely not what I was looking for. I made a loop in that action area but no more bites so I started trolling out of the creek.
Mini-whammo and a plump largemouth grabbed a bait. It was fun but only a trash fish. I decided to troll the edge of the river channel over to the S-curve. I marked a few deep, scattered fish and caught nothing. I was coming up to the first big turn, on the outside edge and trolled over the first point at about 40' of water. Holy S#!t! A nice, big school of fish! I crossed my fingers and sure enough one bit a lure as they swan by. I could tell it was a decent fish so I cleared the other lines. I wrestled for a few minutes and boated a plump 25". I wasted no time and went right back. The fish were still there so I started jigging. AMAZING! I got another one to bite. A twin 25". After I boated the second fish I was still marking a few and kept jigging. No bites. I grabbed a big, deep diving crankbait and started throwing. I got bit on the second cast but the fish spit the hook. Jig, cast, jig, cast, for the next 20 minutes got no more fish. I really need to get that Humminbird 360 to follow those fish. When somebody buys my trailer, I'll buy the 360.
So I started back trolling and searching. All around the S, into and out of Strawberry Banks, and another lap around the S. This time I was headed back to the point when a mean 15" took a bait. Kept searching. After 10am I headed over to Becky & Betty's Creeks. Before starting a run I noticed some deep fish in the river channel opposite the condos. Hmm. So I started trolling past the condos, into Betty's and did indeed mark some fish. Some high, most low. The biggest group was 4. Must have been to early for lunch. Crossed over to Becky and it was the same, a few scattered fish and a few small groups not interested in anything. So I pulled lines and headed to the deep fish. I marked them 80-100ft over the river channel so I started deep jigging. One static, one active. I did that for about 30 min with no bites. Phooey. Not a bad day, 7 fish, 2 keepers, and nice weather. Great to be on the water. Later Joel
So I kept trolling up the left side past the Virginia Dare. Whammo! In ten minutes I boated a 19". I threw him back with the specific instructions to call his mother over. He didn't. I wasn't marking any schools or groups but I was seeing some few scattered fish. Kapow! Another ten minutes, another fish. Someone's baby brother at 14". Didn't even know he was on til I looked at the bobbing rod. Hey, it was action. I got as far back as I could and started a u-turn. Bang! Another ten minutes, another fish. A little better at 20" but surely not what I was looking for. I made a loop in that action area but no more bites so I started trolling out of the creek.
Mini-whammo and a plump largemouth grabbed a bait. It was fun but only a trash fish. I decided to troll the edge of the river channel over to the S-curve. I marked a few deep, scattered fish and caught nothing. I was coming up to the first big turn, on the outside edge and trolled over the first point at about 40' of water. Holy S#!t! A nice, big school of fish! I crossed my fingers and sure enough one bit a lure as they swan by. I could tell it was a decent fish so I cleared the other lines. I wrestled for a few minutes and boated a plump 25". I wasted no time and went right back. The fish were still there so I started jigging. AMAZING! I got another one to bite. A twin 25". After I boated the second fish I was still marking a few and kept jigging. No bites. I grabbed a big, deep diving crankbait and started throwing. I got bit on the second cast but the fish spit the hook. Jig, cast, jig, cast, for the next 20 minutes got no more fish. I really need to get that Humminbird 360 to follow those fish. When somebody buys my trailer, I'll buy the 360.
So I started back trolling and searching. All around the S, into and out of Strawberry Banks, and another lap around the S. This time I was headed back to the point when a mean 15" took a bait. Kept searching. After 10am I headed over to Becky & Betty's Creeks. Before starting a run I noticed some deep fish in the river channel opposite the condos. Hmm. So I started trolling past the condos, into Betty's and did indeed mark some fish. Some high, most low. The biggest group was 4. Must have been to early for lunch. Crossed over to Becky and it was the same, a few scattered fish and a few small groups not interested in anything. So I pulled lines and headed to the deep fish. I marked them 80-100ft over the river channel so I started deep jigging. One static, one active. I did that for about 30 min with no bites. Phooey. Not a bad day, 7 fish, 2 keepers, and nice weather. Great to be on the water. Later Joel
RSS Feed