New Years Eve Day 2011 - Fall Creek Falls

While the big boat is out of commission, I decided to fish at Fall Creek Falls State Park, rent a boat and enjoy a little December sunshine.  The temperature got up to about 60 today - warmest December in decades.  I only caught 2-fish, one small keeper and this 6 lb. 10 oz. lady.  She bit a Stan Sloan Zorro 3/4 oz. football jig in black & blue; with a Zoom trailer.  She pulled hard for such cold water (40-degrees).  Enjoyed about 5-hours on the water...a great way to spend part of New Years Eve.

HAPPY NEW YEARS!

Thanksgiving Day, 2011

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!  Yes, I went fishing from 12:30 until 3:30. Went to Center Hill as it was closest and first cast produced a 6# Small Mouth - my personal best.  Thought I was hung up until it realized it was hooked.  Had it hooked pretty deep so as soon as I removed the hook I put it back in the water.  Only other fish in the boat was a very nice 3# spot.  Took a phone picture of it as it was healthy.  Enjoyed the time on the water and thankful for the opportunity.

Rattleman129 donates baits to Troop 347

Was on Bass Chat about 3-weeks ago when Rattleman129 (Nat) offered to donate some fishing baits to our Scout Troop.  Of course, I was glad to hear that and thanked Nat for his generosity.  Last Monday night, 11/14/11, it was passed on to the boys - enough that every Scout there took home a Wal-Mart bag full with plenty left over for the others who will show up at a camp out this weekend.  Here are some pics and thanks again, 129!  Cheers!

November 8, 2011 - Center Hill Lake

Woke up today to a forecast that was ideal for a fishing trip.  I put new spark plugs in the boat motor yesterday so with the weather cooperating nicely I filled up the boat and hit the lake at WOT.  Found some shad in the back of a creek and caught 3-dinks with a swim bait.  Followed that with two nicer LM with a Jig.  Then, I caught this nice 4# with a white POC, given to me by Blue Fleck.  After lunch I landed this decent SM on a Zorro Jig.  Wind was up all day but It seemed to help the fishing as the water is Gin clear now.  Great time!

Couldn't pass this up

Friend of mine who has a home overlooking Center Hill Lake took this picture early this AM (November 7, 2011).  What great timing and what a fantastic shot!

Fall Colors

No fishing this weekend but we did take a beautiful fall color drive up the plateau to Fall Creek Falls State Park.  Seemed the trees were at peak color and the day was cool but brilliant.  We had a KFC picnic lunch then took a little walk around the lake.  Beautiful and relaxing day.

Tuesday, Sept 27, 2001

Fishing on Center Hill has been far from spectacular the last 2-weeks.  I've gone out about 3-times a week for 3 to 4-hours each time with poor results.  Water is clearing and water temperature has dropped from about 85 to 73 during this time.  I've thrown every bait I have and have not caught more than 3-dink.  The lake itself is beautiful this time of year and I always enjoy my time on the water.  Hopefully, things will improve.

Saturday, Sep 12, 2011 - Project Graduation

Dekalb County High School had a Project Graduation fishing tournament, Saturday, Sept. 12 at Center Hill Lake. I decided to fish it as I've been fishing the lake quite regularly, trying to find decent fishing areas. I thought it might be a good test and benefit the students too. Guess I flunked the test.

I caught plenty of fish but only Large Mouth and Small Mouth - both of which have size limits, 15" and 18" respectively. Knowing that going in, I thought I could pick up a decent bag of Spotted Bass, as there is no size restriction and they have been feeding heavily of late. I couldn't even get a Spot to bite and the LM and SM caught didn't measure.

It was only a 5-hour tournament from 8AM to 1PM, I caught some fish, donated the money and headed to the house. Cheers.

Guntersville Labor Day Family Gathering

15-members of the family gathered at Guntersville for the annual Labor Day Holiday get-together. We had the bass boat and my sons new Sea Ray ski boat to satisfy any and all water activities. Everyone fished and caught fish and all the teens and preteens enjoyed tubing and skiing. The rental property was very nice with lots of room. We've already made our reservations for next year at the same place.

Week of August 21st

I enjoyed two evenings of fishing this week, Tuesday and Thursday. I' thankful for the time on the water but neither were great number days - a couple of bass each evening.

This Saturday is the Volunteer Fire Fighters monthly fund raising tournament from 7PM until Midnight.

The High School football team is sponsoring a Bass fishing tournament Saturday Sept 10th, 8-AM to 1-PM and this is also a fund raiser. I haven't decided if I'm fishing yet but I'm thinking about it.

The late Summer pattern is beginning - more and more shad balls are moving the back of the creeks and large schools of predators are soon to follow. Fish are spread out and the key is finding them...as always. So, the hunt continues in these pleasant later summer evenings. God Bless.

Mill Creek - Saturday, August 20, 2011

I normally do not fish the weekends, but I thoroughly cleaned the boat in the morning so after lunch I just wanted to take it out. I wasn't expecting much as the water was churned to a froth by the hundreds of ski boats, jet skis, house boats and pontoons. I decided to find the quietest place I could so ran to the very beginning of Mill Creek - the water was between 3 and 8 feet deep.

I took a Zorro rattlin' Booza Bug with a pumpkin colored trailer and made a cast into the middle of this large flat. First cast I hooked up - a WALLEYE about 2-pounds. What is a Walleye doing in the back of a Creek in 4' of water? I deduced that the water must be of decent quality even though shallow.

Next cast close to a stump I hooked up with a nice Largemouth so I just kept fishing that pattern. I'd see dark places under the water (stumps) and throw to them - when it was all done, I had caught 6-LM. I kept the 5-biggest in the live well and weighed them later - total of the 5 was 16-pounds.

Upon return to the dock there was a tourney about to launch so I released the bass close enough so they could see. LOL. Yeah, a little mean and self-serving, I know. Had a nice afternoon despite the heavy traffic - now I have to clean the boat again! Cheers!

Thursday, August 11, 2011 - Center Hill Lake

I was able to spend a few late afternoon hours on Center Hill and was rewarded with 3-hours of pretty fair fishing. Found a little hot spot where I caught and released 8-bass; Large Mouth, Spotted Bass and of the Small Mouth 2-very nice fish. I was by myself and had to use my phone camera but the SM I'm holding weighed 3.9#! I marked the spot on my GPS so I can return when I need to.

Birthday 2011

Had a great 63rd birthday complete with presents, family, and cake & ice-cream. I got new tires for the Tahoe, a collectors airplane, gift certificates to BPS, a Humminbird 788ci HD DI, and some cash.

My 2nd daughter and grand kids came to celebrate and the two oldest wanted to fish. No problem, of course! BJ (15) caught a LM and Spot and Vivian (13) one spot. Being my Birthday and all...I caught zip but broke off two that felt pretty heavy.

I've waited all my life to get this old - might as well enjoy it! Thanks to all for the well wishes!

Blessings to all.

Center Hill - July 29, 2011

One of my youngest Daughter's Son's has been here for the week so we have fished every afternoon for 3-days on Center Hill Lake. The fishing was poor - or - the fisherman ill prepared. However today I actually caught 2 nice fish - one keeper SM (19") and a LM the same size. Water temperature was 93, ambient temperature 97 with 5-mph breeze. Water clarity was gin with a green tint.

Lost a Heavy, 7' casting rod - broke it in two pieces high sticking a snag! Yes, I know better! Argh! Never broke a rod in my life and now 2-each in 10-months - what's with that?

Last night the boat shifter broke a cable so today I took it by my local boat repair and surprisingly he jumped right on it. All done and ready to go in just 2-hours!

Last week, my Son bought me a combined Father's Day and Birthday present - a new Humminbird 788ci HD Di and had it installed while I was traveling in the Middle East. Works great and I really appreciate it.

I'm blessed and thankful!

Father's Day 2011

Had a great Father's day! Cards, fudge, Truffles, Face Book greetings, Columbia Fishing Shirts and nice rain jacket plus my 2nd Daughter and her family came over. B.J. my G'son wanted to fish so Brian (SnL) joined us for an outing on Center Hill Lake. We got out about 2:30 in the afternoon and finished up about 7:30 (T-Storms & Lightening caused a quick exit) and we were back at the house for Pizza by 8 PM. Water temp was about 90, water quality was dingy from all the weekend pleasure boaters but 12-fish were caught on jigs. I caught 3-each SM, LM and Spot. B.J. caught one LM and Brian caught 2-each LM. The fish didn't start cooperating until about 5:30 when the boat traffic calmed. A great day, thoroughly enjoyed!

June 14, 2011 - Center Hill Lake

My Grandson, Isaac is visiting so we fished Center Hill Lake from about 3 until 7:30 yesterday afternoon. I caught a very nice Spotted Bass on a football head Zorro 3/4-oz jig (greenish) and a Zoom trailer in 9-12' of water. Isaac caught his first crank-bait bass on a square lipped 8' ghost gray crank-bait and did it off the Doc while I was loading the boat to leave! He caught 1-bass earlier on a jig and 3-off the dock in the last 5-minutes of fishing. Tonight, if weather allows, he wants to catch his first Spinner-Bait Bass. Good times! Maybe we will have some pictures to share after tonight.

Center Hill Lake surface temperatures are 89 - 93 degrees. The water is clearing but slightly stained and fish are hitting early and late in 5-15' of water close to sharp cliffs and breaks on a variety of lures.

Saturday evening, Center Hill, June 11

Launched about 3:30 PM, at Ragland Bottom and immediately had to compete with droves of PWC, houseboats, ski-boats and pontoons but I knew they would thin out as the evening wore on. The last 1-hour of fishing I hooked a real nice smallmouth but he unbuttoned at the boat - looked to be in the 3-4# class. Same hole gave up this LM about 10-minutes later. 3/4-oz Dale Hollow color Zorro Jig and root beer Zoom trailer was the bait of the evening. Water was badly stained and choppy due to the high volume of traffic. Only a slight breeze, water temp 89. Much better than whatever was on TV.

CenterHill - Slowly Breaking the Code

I fished Center Hill this afternoon for a few hours. It seems I'm slowly breaking the code. Tonight I caught several nice spots, 1-nice Large Mouth and missed a couple of nice fish. Great to get out in the cooler part of the day.

Flooding/Storms April 2011

We've had some very bad weather from Middle TN down through N. Alabama but I didn't realize how strong the storms were to the North - particularly around Old Hickory Lake by Gallatin, TN. To point, these docks are NOT supposed to be (phone picture taken at dusk...sorry) where they are and weren't there just 5-days ago when Denny and I launched. Amazing! These things are huge...guess we have more structure for awhile. Cheers!

Old Hickory with Denny of Seeker Rods - Part 2

Denny sent me the pictures taken with his camera of our fishing day on Old Hickory.

New Zorro flipping jigs

Tuesday, April 26, 2011: I took the Tahoe in for an oil change and was talking to Ronnie Rogers (co-owner) of Stan Sloan Zorro Bait Company and he told me about a new flipping jig head design they have out. He gave me three samples from his stash. He's also a semi-pro angler, fishes all kinds of tourneys all over the region, and he loves this design and results. So, I'll try these and order some!

Old Hickory with Denny of Seeker Rods

Monday, April 25, 2011: I picked up Denny in Franklin, TN at 7:30 AM and drove to Old Hickory Lake for a day of fishing. I packed the appropriate amount of food...4-sandwiches, Pringles, 2-pieces of 3-layer home made carrot cake, 2-Krispy Kreme Cheery Pies, brownies, Chex Mix, water, coke and Orange drink. Oh, 2-thermos' of coffee. We launched about 9 AM and ran straight to Cages Bend area where I knew they would spawn if the time was right...IT WAS RIGHT.

Three casts in and we were hauling in 2's, 3's, 4's and 5's. Water temp was about 63-68 depending on the wind, current and rain drainage and visibility nil. The wind was rough at 15-20 mpg with gusts to 30.

We were using Zorro Booza Bugs, 7/16-oz gold/brown heads with green/yellow/orange skirts tipped with a Zoom trailer in root beer. They were loving it. Since Denny also tests for Daiwa, he threw some proto-type cranks in various depth sizes. He got bit on all of them, but the jig brought home the bigger fish.

Denny gave me a Batson golf shirt, some X-Treme reel lubricants and a brand new Shimano Stradic 3000...SWEET!

He took pictures during the day with his camera and we used my camera after reaching the dock area. I have posted mine here but will post his when available.

A good day, a new friend, good fishing - Priceless!

Seeker Blank Rod

Finished the Seeker 706 S-Glass blank for Crank Baits given to me by Kenny of Seeker. Looks good but the pictures are poor.

He called me today and will be arriving Nashville April 20th and staying through the 27th. His daughter lives in Franklin and will take him to Atlanta for Easter weekend but then we will meet Monday and/or Tuesday after Easter for some fishing. I'm really looking forward to it.

Saturday AM @ Perdido Key

I have to add this weird story - we were surf-fishing late one evening, I believe it was Tuesday, when we got a strong bite, set the hook and brought in this nice sized surf-catfish.

Here's the weird part - we never hooked the fish - turns out he was already hooked with another surf-rig and we had caught the "rig" and not the fish.

30# Ray and Whitings

We had an interesting morning on the foggy beach of Perdido Key - Caught 2-sting rays and 4-good size Whitings. One of the rays was 30# - took 30-minutes to bring to the shore then we cut him off. Been foggy all day with no sunshine yet. This is our last day so we'll enjoy the rest of it then pack and head out in the AM.

Perdido Key, Pensacola, FL April 5, 2011

Having another good day here on the beach - strong T-Storms came through during the night and the high winds lingered until about 11 A.M. but brilliant skies prevailed. Got in a little beach time with the Grandson's and their family and also tried a little surf fishing - to no avail. Today we drove over to the Bass Pro Shop close to Mobile and spent about and hour - I picked up some reel grease and C-Rig egg sinkers - 1 0z and 1.5 oz - can't get them that heavy around home. Watched Isaac surf fish for about 2-hours and now we'll head out to dinner. So Thankful!

Perdido Key, Pensacola, FL April 3, 2011

Wow! We're having a great time here on Perdido Key - My Son rented a 3-BR Condo right on the beach and invited us down for the week. Yesterday, he chartered a boat called PIER PRESSURE, and Capt. Josh put us on a slew of Sheepshead. We filled a big catch bag of them for fillet's and grilling. My Grandson Isaac caught the most and largest of that species. Stephen caught a nice red that was over the slot limit so it was released. We caught about 7-species in total - A great day and great weather. Hope I know how to relax for the rest of the week.

Red Wine Lake Revisited

Had another opportunity to fish my buddy's private lake near Atlanta - 85-degrees with 20-mph winds, water temperature high 50's to low 60's. Had a wonderful 4-hours. We caught about a dozen fish - Keith's largest (not pictured) was about 2# and I caught two 3.5# and one a good 4#. Using JIGS - what else?