Fishing Update

Wow - its been awhile since I have written anything in the blog. Things have been busy even with the Covid 19 restrictions.
Andy Greene and I have been fishing Lake James quite a bit. We have been fortunate enough to win a couple and make a check a couple more times. I've really enjoyed fishing James - you feel like you have the chance for a big smallmouth on any cast. This past weekend we won with 18.15 and caught pre-spawn, spawning, and post spawn fish. Fish are all over the map on stages right now.
Well, I guess I have come full circle. The first Ranger my dad bought for me to fish out of was in 1979 and it was a charcoal gray/silver metal flake Ranger 235V. Over the years I have owned I think 7 Rangers and all but two have been the same white color scheme. Well I have moved my Z519 and picked up a Z520C yesterday in charcoal, black, and silver. I am 58 years old and this will be my last boat purchase. I have kept a boat for 20 years before and if I am able to fish at 78 then this one should still do the job. The boat is perfect and I look forward to breaking it in tomorrow. I may add a Panoptix to it sometime before winter but that is the only upgrade I think I will do.
I will post pics tomorrow evening. I picked the boat up in Martinsville Virginia yesterday. I can't say enough about Sandi, Trent, and the gentleman in rigging who I think is Justin. Things were as smooth as possible and they made the experience perfect. I got home late afternoon and had to start getting everything loaded. Finished that up today as well as doing the paperwork for the boat in Spindale (shout out the the folks there as well today - smooth as silk) and then went back to the shop and tied jigs.
Speaking of jigs,,,I have reopened L&M Custom Lures. I tied jigs from the late 80s until about 2014. I got out of it due to time constraints and I was tired of smelling lead. I have found a head supplier and I still have a large amount of the original brown square rubber. I posted in a couple of forums earlier this week that I was tying again and there response has been higher than I expected for such a short amount of time. At this time I am only tying the brown and brown with different accents. If I get the demand I will add the old Tequila color at some point but that will be in silicone. Those are the only options I plan to offer. There are a lot of great silicone jigs on the market, notably Jody Wright's Katch-Her-Lures. He makes great jigs and has a strong business. Check his jigs out as well.
I will post a recap of the boat break in tomorrow night. Tight Lines...

Murray Practice

Spent the past two weekends practicing for the first PBC Trail tournament at Murray. Spent yesterday almost exclusively idling and looking for spots off the bank - I didn't fish any of the stuff I normally would. This is what I looked like for about 6 hours yesterday....

I did manage to catch one fish off the two places I found that I like but it was the wrong species and an ugly one at that...

Looking forward to the tournament. I expect conditions to change a good bit between now and the tournament on February 1st. Water temps will cool and unless we get a good bit of rain I expect the water mid-lake and up to clear somewhat. Still two weeks to prepare...for now I am going to fish Lake James tomorrow and see if I can get on some smallmouth. Sure hope to have some good video to share tomorrow afternoon.

Next Saturday Andy Greene and I are back at Hartwell for the CATT Championship. Putting all our eggs in one basket...hero or zero.

Fall Fishing at Hartwell/Shoutout to Anglers Choice

I have enjoyed the last two Saturdays fishing at Hartwell. By far my favorite lake. The bite has been okay but I am struggling to find quality fish. Looking at the results of the BASS Nation tournament this past week I am not the only one!
The water temp was 70 two Saturdays ago and yesterday I fished water from 53-60. I anticipate the water will cool further this week with the cold front coming in...I would like to see it in the mid 50s in the area I am fishing in the CATT tournament next weekend. I feel like those bigger fish will move to where I have been fishing for them.
Thanks to Anglers Choice for their willingness to go the extra mile. Got a text from Andy week before last and he was looking at the data from my Vesselview Mobile and was able to tell what service my 4 stroke Mercury needed. I have put over 160 hours on the motor in the first year - I ran it for the first time one year ago today. I don't believe lots of dealers would be taking the time to check on their customers to this extent. Great job! If you are in need of a new/used boat, UTV, or Camper, be sure to give the folks at Anglers Choice a shot at your business. Customer service is just as important as the initial deal, and these folks are among the best.

Swimming a Jig

Frog fish to start the morning...

Wylie BFL Post Tournament

Happy with an 18th place finish yesterday at the Wylie BFL. The lake is changing daily and it is hard to keep up with what is going on. Water temps ranged from 54-58 throughout the day and you can find most any color water you want to fish.

Ended up with 5 that weighed 11.12. I had located a couple of schools of fish off shore that would bite a carolina rig and my hope was for a quick limit of keepers and then fish a jig and chatter bait the rest of the day. The quick limit turned into about a half day of shallow and deep with only 2 very small keepers to show for the effort. Around lunch I made the decision to go jig fishing, and the area I was in had a few moved up. I boated 3 that were about 3 pounds each and lost 2 more.  I had the chance to have a top 5 day but I am thankful for the 18th, especially after Norman. Moved up 20 spots in the points and need to move about 25 more over the next three tournaments to be in qualifying position for the Regional at Hartwell. Next BFL is at Kerr at the end of April.

#AnglersChoice, #MercuryOutboards

Prop Change Today

Everyone needs a spare prop. At least that is what I told myself as I have contemplated a change in my prop for a couple of months. (In reality everyone should carry a spare - it has saved me more than once). The 4 stroke motors in 225 and 250 come with a 23 Fury and I do believe it is the best overall, year around prop for the boat. However, I felt like I could improve performance, at least in the cooler months, with a 24 Fury. Thanks to Andy Greene and the folks at Anglers Choice Marine I got a 24 this week and ran it today. I think hole shot was just slightly slower and I lost about 100 rpm's. However, I gained a little on top end and I have better bow lift. I am pleased with change. As always, if you have any type of boating need, speak with the folks at Anglers Choice. They will fix you up quickly and, best of all, will always treat you right.

Got Lucky Line Broke After It Cleared The Gunnel

Spinnerbait Box Tip

Just a quick tip on one way to organize your spinnerbaits...


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Norman Practice 2/16

Final full day of practice at Norman for the BFL. Much better day today than I have been having. Hoping for cloudy weather next Saturday with a little wind.