Big Bream, Shellcrackers and some suprises....

Since my son is on trackout,  I had promised to take him fishing downeast for some big catfish. I told him the catfishin would be better next month  but he still wanted to go anyway . Thata boy!.....
We headed to one of my favorite rivers, the Neuse.  Now I  will not gona say exactly where we were,  but any blackwater creek off the Neuse between Smithfield and NewBern will give you some really nice bream and the main Neuse  will get you the Flatheads and Blue Cats.. 
We arrived at our destination at 1pm and fished untill 11pm. The Boat for today would be my Trusty 1984 vintage Coleman Scanoe with a Mercury 2.5 hp motor.  
First business of the day would be to fish for Bream.  For 2 reasons, they are fun,  and we need bait.  Bait of choice was crickets on 2 ul rods fished 2 ' under corks on #6 long shank hooks.  Man! did we have a blast and  we really got on to some good bream. My son actually lost one that was 1.5 lbs to 2 lbs and I had a similar one break 4 lb test at the boat!!!!. all of the big Bream were released for another day and a few of the smaller ones kept for bait.  Oh, I did catch a few on my 4wgt fly rod with a yellow popper and a black ant trailer.
Here are a few pics of some of the bream.

Not a big shellcracker but he fought like crazy!

Maybe my biggest of the day

One for the Longrod.... All fly rod caught fish caught on Yellow popper with Ant trailer.

This was probably my sons biggest of the day.

Here is the type of areas we were fishing. Throwing right up against Cypress trees and gum trees.

Right before dark we headed out to one of  my catfish hot spots and set up.

3 rods would be used tonight.

1. An  Abu 7000 loaded with 40 lb cajun line on a 7' mh American Spirit Nite Stik. This IMO is the best catrod on the market.

2. A Shimano 6500 Baitrunner loaded with 25 lb Golden stren on a 7' ugly Stik Tiger Rod. 

3. A calcutta 700 loaded with 30 lb big game on a custom made 8' rod that I can thank my Great freind Todd for!!!

All rigs were modified Carolina rigs with 2 oz sinkers, short leaders and 5/0 hooks. I left the 9/0 hooks at home!

The first spot yielded this decent striper that my son got in fairly easy on the calcuata 700. This Striper hit a piece of cut bream soaked in garlic juice.

After a couple of missed hits,   we moved down to another spot and right away I caught this small flattie.

After  a couple more missed hits we moved down to another spot and nada. 

Not a great day for bottom fishing but can't complain with a Flathead and a Striper caught,  and the joy of the day was seeing my son have fun with  those Big  Ole Bull Bream. Other wildlife seen was 2 Black Fox Squirrels , alot of white Ibis, some ducks and the usual Herons. Oh! on the ride down I did see that one unfortunate Fox Squirrel didn't make it across the rode and now I know someone who may have a red Fox squirrel tail for some Fly tying.

Mack

First Fly and First fish Caught with Them

I started fly fishing around 1977 or so in the Haw River  mainly for Redbreast since the Haw is loaded with them and it was in my backyard.   My dad had given me an Eagle Claw fly reel which I still have today.  My main technique  was to  float down the river and cast black ants and/or poppers under the overhanging trees and bushes from my mowhawk canoe, my float tube purchased from Netcraft, or  by wading down the bank.  Some days you could really catch over a hundred doing this. On those days it was better than catching those big ole largemouths!

I graduated to Trout fishing not long after that and though I still love to catch trount on a fly rod I prefer to catch trout on a spinning reel. (sorry flyguys) .  There is just something about a bream busting a popper on top that i love. My go to rig is a popper and then an ant(either a black or red ant) as a dropper about 1 ft back. Now , fast forward to 2011 and though I have always wanted to try my hand at fly tying I never have. Until now.  Last year my good freind Todd gave me a nice vise that he wasn't using and just recently I have added the bare basics to tie a few poppers and some black ants.

Here are some pics of my handy work. I think the ant looks decent but the popper does look kinda retarded.(ok it looks really bad).... If the popper won't catch a fish it will at least serve as a strike indicator for the ant.

 

There is a pond near my house that i used to fish alot but other more exotic places have been calling so I have neglected this spot for a few years. This pond is where I used to always go in early may to get some nice Bream and shellcracker on the longrod. So,  I was determined to fish this pond yesterday evening .

5/5/2011

Pond "x"

8' rod and reel loaded with WF-4

Lures would be my first black and and my first popper.

Here is the first lunker that hit that ugly popper on the 3rd cast!

Well not really  a lunker but my son said I had a really big smile when I landed this big girl!

Then I was rewarded with this bream which hit the black ant.

Then this shellcracker hit the black ant. What a good fight! Then some more Bream and Black Crappie.

This shellcracker was the biggest of the day. 

What a great evening fly fishing with my first hand tied flies. Caught 1 bass, 3 shellcracker, 2 black crappie and aprox 15 bream. 4 were caught on the popper, and the rest on the ant , so the ant lasted for at least 15 or so fish though it is in pretty bad shape now.   More to come on fly fishing.

A big thanks to Todd for the vise and to Jim at the GOPC in Raleigh for his advise on fly tying. If you ever need any supplies he is the man to go see. Thanks Mack

Channel Cats at a Local Lake

My Son, 2 of his Freinds and myself met up with Aki "FishinCary" on NCAngler  at a local lake for some evening catfishing between 6-8pm.

Equipment used....
Shimano 3500 baitrunner on 8' rod spooled with 17lb line
Ambassadeur 5600c4 Spooled with 15lb line on 7' rod
Rig used. .....Modified Carolina rig(bank sinker instead of barrel sinker) 2oz sinker with 4/0 hook
Bait used....cut bait and live bream.

FishinCary was mopping up on some cats using liver while I was having a hard time getting bait. After finally getting some bait the action picked up for us.  FishinCary probably caught 10 or so and us probably 7. All were eating size from 1-3 lbs with 2 big fish missed. Hate to say that I left our secret attractant at home(garlic spray and/or garlic juice) SSSHHHHHHh.

It was very nice meeting FishinCary and if you ever fish with him you had better be on your A game!
My son and him are aprox the same age and even though they didnt know each other until yesterday they have some mutual friends .

Anyway a good time was had by all.....here are a few pics and a short video clip.

Rockfish (Striped Bass ) Capital of the World! The Roanoke River at Weldon, NC

Rockfish capital of the World.  The Roanoke River at Weldon, NC

That's what they call the Roanoke River around Weldon this time of year. Its a  love hate relationship.

You love it because you can usually go and catch all you want , and you hate it because of the crowds and the knukleheads on the water.

My first introduction to The Roanoke was in the eighties when my Brother -in -law Jerry invited me on a trip to the Roanoke for some Rockfish. Locals do not call these fish stripers. They are Rockfish or "Rock" for short , not Stripers.

Now I couldn't turn down this trip as though I am a little biased,  Jerry was known around the Roanoke as the  best rockfish guide around(now retired). He was guiding Supreme Court Justices on this river before today's guides probably had even caught a fish.  Jerry was a member of Halifax Fish Camp, a private ramp aprox 10 miles below Weldon and where Jerry taught me most of what I know about catching Rock in rivers which is a tiny fraction of what he knows.

Jerry's two main techniques were to drift with a big splitshot about a foot above a hook, and to anchor and fish a 3 way rig.  The bait of choice was a shad that he would catch at the Fifth Street ramp where he would throw his net right up against the dam or the Thelma ramp where he would run up to Gaston dam and net them.

Though I have fished it countless times since then with him or my good Friend Kurt I now only fish it occasionally for Rockfish as I cant stand the traffic there.  I fish the Roanoke more for Shad , Catfish, and Bass after the crowds are gone.
Since I have only canoes I have developed a system for my Scanoe which works quite well there. I don't have to wait in line at the ramp as I can unload and load my Scanoe into the cove above the ramp. I cant use shad so I use a cooler with big bass minnows and these do well, though not as good as shad.

The "Big Bubbles" works very well and yesterday I had no minnows that died out of 5 dozen. I also have an aerator that runs off of 12 volts and shoots jets of water into the cooler but this setup works well for  under 6 dozen.
I have also refined my technique a little bit and my go to rig for drifting and anchored is a "baitwalker" with a leader 1/2 the strength of the main line. This way I have never lost a Baitwalker.  Here is a Baitwalker.

If you look closely there is something white on the hook at the minnows lips. This "something" is a piece of floating white trick worm that i put on there. This keeps the minnow from getting off the hook as now Regulations say you cannot have a barb on your hook this time of year and if you don't do something like this you will lose a lot of bait.

On April 23, 2011 my son and I headed to Weldon for some Rockfish. Water was at 12000 cfm's and water temp was 64 degrees.  On the water at 3 and off at 9pm.  My outfit would be a Abu garcia 6500 with a power handle loaded with 30 lb line and 15 lb leader on a white ugly stik. My sons' outfit would be a Shimano 3500 baitrunner loaded with 17 lb line and using a 12 lb leader on a black ugly stik. Our back up rod and reel would be a Daiwa Millionaire on an ugly stik lite rod.
Here is a video of my son and I headed downriver from the ramp.

Upon reaching my first section to drift we got to speak with 2 guys from Rocky Mount  drifting with us and they had caught 18 since 6 am this morning. Not a good sign. No fish were caught and we saw none caught until aprx 5:30 when it seemed like someone turned the switch to on.  Here is the first of the day.

My first of the day, a keeper. Gona be good with cole slaw!

another keeper

Another one of my sons many.

A short video of him catching the above fish.

And last a video of the trip back up river.....

No monsters caught today and only a few keepers as most were 17-18 inches just below legal size. I only kept 1 as several were just over legal size and I was afraid they may shrink a little so I released them instead of paying a 500 dollar fine. Warning: The wardens will check you as you leave as they write alot of tickets during the striper run at weldon.

A big thanks to Jerry for teaching me a little of what you know about the Roanoke.  I have also used some of Jerry's techniques on the Neuse where they work for Rock and catfish. After leaving we went by the outlaws....oops, I meant in-laws and had some good country ham......Thanks me-maw..........Mack

#roanokeriver

#roanokeriverstripers

#roanokeriverstripedbass

#weldon

3rd American Shad Trip Spring 2011

Steve and I headed back down east Friday April 15 to see if we could catch some American Shad.

We went by several of our American Shad spots and nothing was happening with the shad. The recent lack of rain had dropped the water levels and possibly moved the fish back down. We knew we could go to the Roanoke and catch some Hickory Shad but we wanted the big boy's. We each had 1 hookup and each lost A big American Shad!!

Anybody who knows me, knows 1 thing. If I ain't catch'in the fish I set out to catch I will fish for anything that bites. That includes Hornyhead Chubs!......

Here is a few of the fish I caught today.

Caught 2 this size on Rogue.

A Fowler's Toad

Caught 10 or so of these on crickets but not any size to the Bream today.

And last but definitely not least was this ole girl.

A bad day for catchin American Shad but fun was had. After leaving Wiggins Mill on Contentnea Creek,  the eat'in was great as we went to Bill's BBQ and got the buffet!.

Mack

American Shad and a Shellcracker

Upon completing yard work for today I had several choices.  I could go meet up with a friend slaying the Stripers on Jordan or head after some Shad on their spring run. I decided to go to Jordan but after 2 calls my friend was either busy catching fish or ignoring me,  LOL.  So, I headed east to a river where I slayed the Shad 2 and 3 years ago but struck out there last year.
The water looked great and was 61 degrees and usually a good sign in most places was  there was only 1 other fisherman here but, When the shad are biting good it is usually better to see more fishermen as that means they are catching something. After about an hr with only 1 small Black Crappie I got a good hit and was rewarded with this American shad.

I caught these fish on pink headed Chartreuse jigs( see my other shad post for the picture of those jigs).
It was good to see that some made it here this year.
Only caught a couple here so after catching this American Shad pictured  below I decided to make a move to Contentnea creek and headed south down I-95 to Wilson.

This second spot I don't mind naming as it gets a lot of pressure.  Wiggins Mill  on Contentnea Creek. .
Upon arriving at Wiggins Mill the lot was almost full. Problem was, no one was catching anything except the bottom!  Its water temp  was also 61 degrees.  I decided to hike downriver and after not getting any shad to bite I tried for some Bream and was rewarded with this nice Shellcracker.

Picture doesn't do this fish justice as she was 3 times the size of my hand. 1 and 1/4 lbs which ain't too shabby.
Now,  I  really should not show the next picture as it may make Nat's Dad really mad as too how good of a day I had but what the heck, I will show off my next catch anyway.  Sorry Nat's Dad.

Those 2 barbecue sandwiches made a nice ending to a good day on the water.  Not any great numbers caught but can't complain when you go out and catch an American Shad.  Till next time , Mack

#contentneacreek

#littleriver

River Bassin Tournament Trail Charlotte Stop sponsered by Bass Pro Shops April 2nd, 2011

RiverBassin.com and Bass Pro put on their second year of Kayak/canoe/wade tournaments this spring with Charlotte being the first stop. Last year I placed 4th out of a loaded field or great river bassers from mainly NC, Ga, and SC. I had missed being second by a mere .26 of an inch! and was the first to check in at 1:30! This year I was determined to check in after 3 but not later than the deadline of 4:30.

This years field had slightly less competitors because of the foul weather but anglers came from as far away as Indiana. I almost didn't enter because of the cold weather and high muddy water,  but was urged on by some Friends. My river I rely on was  high and muddy so I (we) had to go to a back up to a back up river (creek) that was not as stained.

My partner this year would be my good friend Steve. We launched at approx 7 am at a toasty 36 degree air temperature though the water was a nice 51 degrees. Fish were very hard to come by and after several hours I only had 1 fish in the boat and had lost 2! Fish were hitting my trusty old spinnerbait. This is a view of the put in.

A view of the creek as I paddled upstream.

This would be my first bass of the day.

Steve picked up 1 bass and lost 2,  then I switched lures and began throwing a Cordell Spot.
I was rewarded with this monster! LOL! but,  this fish really helped me.

Finally we gave up on this spot and from my databank on top of my shoulders I hit one spot on the way back to Charlotte that i knew may give us a fish or 2. After about 15 minutes my spinnerbait was nailed by this fish! I was hoping it was not a Bowfin and indeed it wasn't.

This fish was good enough to put me ahead of some great anglers and guess where I finished?.  Yeap,
 4th again! and I missed jumping up to 3rd  by a 1/4 of an inch again. That's is just how it goes sometimes, I had lost 1 earlier that would have put me in second but probably not first unlike last year where I lost a fish that would have put me in first but you can be sure that others had lost fish too,  so I am happy with being consistent and finishing 4th.  Steve and I also finished 5th in the team standings and surely miss that fish i was getting ready to net that somehow came unhooked that would have put us in 2nd for the team standings.

Here is a view of the "weigh in" stage at Bass Pro in Charlotte probaly about 1 hour before the actual weigh in.

Also, a big congrats to Catawba who had caught a winning stringer but didn't enter the individual competition.
Great stringer on a bad day. Congrats Catawba.

To see the official results see the link below.  Mack
http://www.riverbassintrail.com/recaps/2011-recaps/charlotte-wrap-up-article/#

Penny's Bend White Bass 3/24/11

I went to bed last night with monster bass on my mind. I would get up at 5:30 and make the drive to my monster bass hotspot. It had rained a little in Cary last night but not a lot. I was hoping for good water conditions but that would have to wait to be seen because the  USGS has no gauging station on this flow.
I arrived at this place at aprox 7 am and the water was high and muddy. I turned around and headed back to Wake County, and on the drive back I figured that the Eno drainage may not have received as much rainfall so off to Penny's Bend it was for the spring White Bass Run.

You know it's time for the spring White Bass run when the Redbuds and Dogwoods are blooming.

Had to throw in this pic of my dogwood in my front yard. All of my neighbors talk about how nice this tree is.

Conditions. Air temp-50's on up into the 60's by the time I left. Water temp 62 degrees,and slightly up and stained.

I tried my usually dependable chartreuse jigs and nada. I then switched to a mini trap and it was on! Not really,  but 11 or 12 fish isn't too bad after last nights front. I heard they wore them out yesterday but I was pleased with these fish caught in 2 hrs or so after a front. Wish I could of hit it right before the front.

Here is the first of the day

probably the biggest of the day at 1.25 lbs

One that is full of eggs. The above one was also loaded with eggs.

A view downriver

and a view upriver

Most of these fish will run from 3/4 lb to 1 1/4 but there are bigger ones here.

Here are some of the lures I use for White Bass during the spring run on some of North Carolina's rivers.

Clockwise from top- Heddon Tiny Torpedo, Teeny Pop-R in bone color, Shyster, Cordell spot, Blue Fox #1 spinner in chartreuse(#2 is good and chrome is also good), and last is the lure they were hitting today is the Mini-trap.  Lots of other colors in these lures are good but I like chrome and chartreuse for White's.
Left out were the pink headed jigs I use alot (see "Poor Man's Tarpon" Sept 2009 ) http://mackinncblog.blogspot.com/2009/09/poor-mans-tarpon.html  regular Pop R's and  1/8 oz Gold Little Cleo spoons which are murder on White Bass in clear water.

I have 4 main spots I fish for Whites. Two I don't mind mentioning as they get a lot of pressure and I don't think my blog will cause them to get hammered anymore. Penny's Bend and the Haw River just above Jordan.  The other 2 IMO are the best so I will not mention them but almost any lake having a population of White Bass with a decent flow coming in will have a run.   ADDED. How could I forget a really good White bass spot?.....I don't know but Jordan dam is good April thru June.....

Here is probably my biggest white ever, You cant really tell the size in the picture but the lure is a Rogue that is 5 and 1/2 inches long so that will show you its a good fish, This fish weighed 3 lbs even and my next best one went 2-15 . One thing you can tell by the picture is how long ago I caught this fish is by looking at the Reel I was using!  1980's!!!   I will try to  get my 2-15 lb White Bass put on CD and post it soon.
 This fish is well over 3-1/2 times the length of the Rogue.

Since this is about White Bass I will throw in my favorite fish picture of all time(without my son)- my favorite is him smiling with a big Flathead.

Mack