3/12 on the Blackwater and 3/13 on the Trashwater
Mar 14, 2016 8:43:41 GMT -5
smlmike and jmr04 like this
Post by coheasion on Mar 14, 2016 8:43:41 GMT -5
Arrived Friday night for a couple of practice days before the tournament. The water in my area had turned from melted chocalate brown the week earlier to more of a stained color which was good. WT was 53-56 degrees.
Caught plenty of bait on the lights friday night including one mongo - a dozen or so good size alewives and another half dozen 5"gizzards - enough to get started in the morning at least.
Pulled boards and downlines around the 4H area for a bit in the morning with no action. Moved to a different area and found lots of bait and threw the net a few more times and was able to net a half dozen mongos in just 2 throws. Learning more and more about this bait catching thing every time I go out and my net throwing has improved considerably - not quite pancakes with the 10' net yet but not bad either.
Pulled mongos throughout the rest of the morning up close to the banks and I had my first "mongo action" - heard a small splash and looked back and saw my mongo going crazy at the top of the water and then a huge swirl and slap....left the pole alone slowed the TM down and waited and about 5 seconds later another swirl and slap followed by my mongo sputtering at the surface....then 5 seconds later a swirl and a gulp and my line started started zipping through the water right to left....waited a few seconds and then started reeling.....felt like I had the fish on for a couple of seconds and then he was gone.
What an experience - man that was exciting and disappointing all at the same time. Ended up catching 2 sub 30" fish on the day but I now had my tactics and location ready for 3/13.
Woke up 3/13 and man....what a change to the water.....not sure what happened upstream but a ton of trash had washed into the Blackwater...logs....sticks.....leaves....pine needles...pool floats....buckets....bottles....you name it...it was in there and it was thick and made the water un-fishable by planer boards. This trash was in the water all the way up to Gills and thinned out after that. So my morning plan was shot and I moved to Plan B which was a quick scout/pull in Standiford which was a big fat nothing. I did see and talk to Lund2 and his buddies for a bit. Moved on up to Bull Run and pulled boards for an hour and a half or so without much luck.
Hoping the water clears up a bit before the tournament!
Picture of my 28" fish caught Sat evening:
Caught plenty of bait on the lights friday night including one mongo - a dozen or so good size alewives and another half dozen 5"gizzards - enough to get started in the morning at least.
Pulled boards and downlines around the 4H area for a bit in the morning with no action. Moved to a different area and found lots of bait and threw the net a few more times and was able to net a half dozen mongos in just 2 throws. Learning more and more about this bait catching thing every time I go out and my net throwing has improved considerably - not quite pancakes with the 10' net yet but not bad either.
Pulled mongos throughout the rest of the morning up close to the banks and I had my first "mongo action" - heard a small splash and looked back and saw my mongo going crazy at the top of the water and then a huge swirl and slap....left the pole alone slowed the TM down and waited and about 5 seconds later another swirl and slap followed by my mongo sputtering at the surface....then 5 seconds later a swirl and a gulp and my line started started zipping through the water right to left....waited a few seconds and then started reeling.....felt like I had the fish on for a couple of seconds and then he was gone.
What an experience - man that was exciting and disappointing all at the same time. Ended up catching 2 sub 30" fish on the day but I now had my tactics and location ready for 3/13.
Woke up 3/13 and man....what a change to the water.....not sure what happened upstream but a ton of trash had washed into the Blackwater...logs....sticks.....leaves....pine needles...pool floats....buckets....bottles....you name it...it was in there and it was thick and made the water un-fishable by planer boards. This trash was in the water all the way up to Gills and thinned out after that. So my morning plan was shot and I moved to Plan B which was a quick scout/pull in Standiford which was a big fat nothing. I did see and talk to Lund2 and his buddies for a bit. Moved on up to Bull Run and pulled boards for an hour and a half or so without much luck.
Hoping the water clears up a bit before the tournament!
Picture of my 28" fish caught Sat evening:
