Kentucky Afield Outdoors: The Jitterbug Caught Night Bass Prior To World War II And Still Does Today
July 7, 2010
FRANKFORT, Ky. – I bought my first Arbogast Jitterbug at the Western Auto in downtown Bardstown well before my 10th birthday. I had no idea about what made a good color choice, so I bought the one that looked the coolest to me at the time: a model with a silver/gray back and white belly. It was the first lure I ever bought with my own money.
I threw that thing on small lakes and ponds with nary a whiff from a bass. I loved its action and followed the directions on the Jitterbug’s packaging: reel the lure in a few feet, let it sit still, repeat.
A cousin is a Dominican sister, stationed at St. Catherine near Springfield for many years of my youth. This gave me access to fish their small lakes and I attacked with my new lure. No strikes from bass, as usual. Toward the end of the day, I grew frustrated and launched a huge rainbow cast, trying to throw it as far as I could.
A power line running about 1 o’clock over my head grabbed the Jitterbug and I watched in horror as it looped around the cables over and over again. I lost my first lure without it catching a fish. That Jitterbug may still be hanging from those wires.
A while later I learned the basics of fishing the Heddon River Runt and the old Knight Tube worms on the many distillery lakes around Bardstown. My brother, Dad and I enjoyed a summer evening fishing on one of those lakes. My brother threw his new black Jitterbug along weed lines just before dark. The commotion from largemouth bass plastering the Jitterbug made Dad and me envious. He caught some good bass that night and lost a big one in the weeds. It was tough to move a big bass from weeds with a Zebco 404 mounted on a whippy fiberglass rod, but my opinion about the Jitterbug changed forever.
The time of day was the difference between my brother’s success with this odd looking lure and my frustration with it. The Jitterbug isn’t a daytime lure; it is the best night bass topwater lure of all time, especially for small lakes and ponds.
Lure inventor Fred Arbogast tinkered in his basement shop with the business end of a spoon and a piece of broom handle back during the Great Depression. The spoon inspired the Jitterbug’s unusual concave lip that produced a highly effective gurgling sound and erratic wobble on the retrieve. No other lure looks or sounds like a Jitterbug since it hit the market in 1937.
Summer nights are the best time to fish Jitterbugs. Black is the only color to throw. It is Jitterbug time when the sun’s fallen so low that you struggle to tie a knot without the help of a flashlight. Tie that last daytime knot to a black Jitterbug.
This lure isn’t a weedless plastic frog you can sling thoughtlessly into the teeth of the vegetation ringing a farm pond or small lake in the darkness. The treble hooks on the Jitterbug impale themselves on any log, lilly pad or strand of coontail they contact.
Study the water before sunset and decide likely casting lanes. Paralleling a weedbed with the Jitterbug draws vicious strikes, but you can catch many huge bass fishing the middle of the pond. The popping, gurgling sound of the Jitterbug draws bass from far away to smash it.
Although the literature promotes a stop-and-go retrieve with the Jitterbug, a straight retrieve often works better. You want the Jitterbug to settle into an annoying rhythm as you work it. The steady irritating sound from the lure drives bass nuts. Hold on to your rod tightly as largemouth bass usually try and savage the lure. The strike is often violent.
The stop-and-go retrieve in which you reel the Jitterbug a few feet, let it rest till the ripples settle out and repeat, works best on nights when the fish aren’t aggressive. Try the steady retrieve first. Move to the stop-and-go if the steady retrieve fails. Resist the temptation to set the hook when you hear the strike or you may have a Jitterbug and its treble hooks flying at your head in the dark. Wait until you feel the weight of the fish before driving the hooks home.
The 3/8-ounce size Jitterbug is a good all-around choice for ponds and small lakes. Cast the lure on a 7-foot medium action spinning rod spooled with 10- to 12-pound test line. Spinning equipment is much easier to deal with at night than baitcasting equipment. Throw the 5/8-ounce Jitterbug if you prefer a baitcasting rod. The slightly longer jointed Jitterbug produces more action and works better on windy nights or in the secluded coves of reservoirs.
The Jitterbug also drives stream smallmouth crazy. Work the ¼-ounce black model at dusk above and below riffles with 45-degree casts. Retrieve the Jitterbug fast enough to keep the gurgle going. The stream current tricks you into thinking you are reeling quickly enough, but often the Jitterbug isn’t making any commotion at all, just bobbing downstream. Speed up if you don’t feel any wobbling through your rod on the retrieve.
Stream smallmouth attempt to kill the Jitterbug with a vicious strike or gently slurp the lure and pull it under the surface. Keep on your toes. Set the hook if you feel any weird resistance. Large stream smallmouth bass often strike the Jitterbug gently.
Tie on the venerable Jitterbug this summer and enjoy some of the most exciting fishing on the planet. It drove bass insane before World War II and still does today.
Trout, smallmouth thrive in streams to the north – Sports | The Columbia Daily Tribune
July 7, 2010
BY SPENCER E. TURNER Special to the Tribune
I grew up in northern Wisconsin fishing mostly lakes, yet one of my earliest memories is fishing with my parents on one of Wisconsin’s driftless streams southwest of La Crosse. Mom and I fished with cane poles and indigenous wigglers (worms). Dad used a fly rod.
The stream, as my memory recalls 65 years later, was populated with bluegills, bullheads and that occasional largemouth bass — not smallmouth bass or trout.
That’s all changed. Landowners learned better farming practices. Streams cooled and cleaned themselves of silt and soil eroded from nearby hills. Fisheries and wildlife agencies in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa learned the resource’s value, and conservation groups like Trout Unlimited help restore the streams.
The driftless area is located in southwest Wisconsin, northeast Iowa and southeast Minnesota. It’s an area that missed the last two glacial ice epics, 9 million and 12 million years past, leaving the topography intact with rolling hills, deeply dissected valleys and fertile soils. Each valley supports a productive stream with brook trout in the headwaters and smallmouth bass in the main stems.
The streams all flow to the Mississippi River and now support some of the best trout and smallmouth bass fishing in the nation. And they’re all within an easy drive of Columbia. Hook a turn north on Highway 63, and you’re just a few hundred miles away. Leave in the morning, and fishing could be in your plans by late afternoon. Click Link Below For Full Story!
On the line: Kevin VanDam – The Daytona Beach News-Journal
June 25, 2010
By GODWIN KELLY, Motorsports editor send an email to godwin.kelly@news-jrnl.com
June 25, 2010 12:05 AM
VanDam is one of the most decorated bass fishing champions in the nation. One week after Jamie McMurray won the 2010 Daytona 500, VanDam won the Bass Masters Classic in Birmingham, Ala. The Classic, which VanDam has captured three times, is the “Daytona 500 of bass fishing.” The two men have the same primary sponsor, Bass Pro Shops. VanDam was in town Tuesday to help promote the July 3 Coke Zero 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway. McMurray and VanDam went bass fishing, then raced go-karts as part of the media opportunity. Motorsports editor Godwin Kelly talked to VanDam during a break between fishing and racing sessions.
Jamie said his life changed after winning the Daytona 500. Did your life change after winning that big fishing tournament?
“The Bass Masters Classic is the biggest event in our sport. You qualify for it during the season before and it kicks off our season, just like the Daytona 500 kicks off NASCAR each season. It's not a points event. It's an all-or-nothing type event. This past year was special. Two years before, I was leading going into the final day and ended up third. Anybody will tell you that the first time you win a championship, it's huge. There's nothing like it. The second time is better. Jimmie Johnson will tell you his fourth championship was better than his third. For me it was special.” Click link below for full story!
via On the line: Kevin VanDam – Racing.
Kentucky Afield Outdoors: Solving Common Fishing Line Problem
June 23, 2010
By Lee McClellan
June 22, 2010 — Frankfort, Ky. – My grandfather had an old, huge saltwater Penn baitcasting reel spooled with black Dacron line attached to one of the earliest fiberglass rods. A large switch on the side of the reel released the spool to cast. Your thumb controlled everything.
It didn’t have a spool tension control knob or adjustable braking like modern baitcasting reels. My grandfather would tie a casting dummy onto that antique rod and let the grandkids go at it in his back yard. My sister could cast better than my brother and me.
The first few times I cast that thing I marveled at my casting distance and paid no attention to my thumb. The reel blew up into a lump of black Dacron spaghetti when the casting dummy hit the ground. I would pick, prod and pull out the backlash or give up, cut the line and retie, only to do it all over again. I’ve struggled with baitcasting equipment ever since.
Early in my fishing career, I gravitated toward spinning gear because it didn’t backlash and worked better with light lures. But, in the last few years, my baitcasting prowess improved significantly after I took advantage of the modern anti-backlash devices. Now, backlashes occur infrequently, even when I throw the unwieldy Carolina rig.
Backlashes occur to even the best baitcasters, but to cut them down significantly, make sure you use the technology of modern reels to your advantage.
The spool tension control knob usually lies on the right side of the reel (for a right-hand reel). Tie on the lure you plan to throw and press the button to release the spool. Adjust the tension control knob until the lure falls slowly and the spool stops spinning when the lure contacts the floor, boat deck or ground.
The spool tension control knob keeps the spool from spinning too fast at the beginning of the cast when the majority of backlashes occur. Another anti-backlash feature is an adjustable braking system usually located on the left side-plate of the reel (on right-hand reels). The braking system allows an angler quick adjustment for different lure weights to prevent backlashes. Heavier lures require more braking.
I learned early on that a pop of the wrist delivers extra distance when casting a spinning rod. Many other anglers learned this trick in their formative fishing years. It is a big reason why so many struggle with baitcasting equipment.
Use a lob style cast with almost all arm to let the baitcasting rod cast the lure, not your wrist and hands. Don’t pop your wrist as you cast a baitcasting rod or a backlash will likely explode in your reel. Wrist pop causes the spool to spin too quickly at the beginning of a cast.
It is a totally different sensation than casting a spinning rod, so practice with short casts before moving up to longer ones. Rotating your arm during the cast until your thumb faces your chest at the end also helps prevent backlashes.
Spinning equipment is easier to use than baitcasting equipment, but problems with loops, tangles and bird’s nests plagued me for many years until I learned a few tricks to keep them at bay.
Nothing is more frustrating than wading, floating or boating to a great fishing spot and hearing a swishing sound coming from your spinning reel on one of your first casts, looking down to see a giant bird’s nest around your spool.
Line twist is the enemy of the spinning reel. It is the root cause of loops, tangles and bird’s nests. Manually flipping the bail of your spinning reel after the cast greatly reduces line twist. Cranking the handle to close the bail not only increases wear and tear on the bail spring, it also imparts several twists on the line. Over the course of a fishing day, those twists add up.
Many anglers panic when a fish strikes and begins to pull drag. They reel furiously, ignoring their drag. Reeling against a slipping drag creates monster line twist on spinning reels. Let the line slip before reeling. Keep your rod tip high to maintain tension on the fish while allowing the drag to do its job.
Fishing line doesn’t cost much, so replace it regularly and properly spool the line onto your spinning reel. Have a partner slip a pencil through the hole in the filler spool and reel the line onto the spool. Keep some tension on the filler spool with your partner’s finger.
If you place the filler spool on the floor to do it yourself, reel a few cranks and inspect the line. If you see tight loops or twists form, flip the filler spool over. This keeps the line from twisting as it loads onto the reel spool. Stop reeling when the line reaches about 1/16-inch from the spool lip.
Resist the temptation to fill the spool completely even with the spool lip. Overfilling the spool in this manner creates huge bird’s nests and tangles, usually on the first cast or two.
If you do fall victim to line twist, cut off your lure and pull off about 10 feet of line from your spinning reel. On a stream, lower the rod tip and allow the current to pull all of the line off your spool. In a boat at slow speed, drop your line in the water and let the boat’s movement do the same. Reel in the line. The water’s tension pulls the twist from the line it will feel like a new spool.
Try these simple tricks this summer for a more enjoyable fishing day free of backlashes, twists and tangles.
Author Lee McClellan is an award-winning associate editor for Kentucky Afield magazine, the official publication of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. He is a life-long hunter and angler, with a passion for smallmouth bass fishing.
Oil Spill Causes Offshore Sports Fishing Cancellations – NYTimes.com
June 23, 2010
By ANDREW W. LEHREN
Shawna Meisner, the director of the Emerald Coast Blue Marlin Classic offshore sports fishing tournament in the Gulf of Mexico, had been one of the last holdouts. But on Thursday — five days before the tournament’s start — the spreading BP oil spill left her little choice.
A weight record was set at the 2009 Emerald Coast Blue Marlin Classic. The 2010 event was canceled.
Meisner canceled the event, a team fishing competition in Destin, Fla. It is ranked by Marlin magazine as having the gulf’s richest purse, reaching a peak of $1.5 million in 2008.
In the wake of the oil spill, many of the top fishing events in the gulf have been postponed or canceled. Those in recreational fishing regard the sport as a key part of the region’s economy. Industry-financed studies estimate that the annual number of day trips on boats to fish in the gulf is 23.5 million, in addition to millions fishing from the shoreline.
Although a small percentage of boating anglers compete in offshore tournaments, they are among the biggest spenders. Each team pays $5,000 to enter the two-day Emerald Coast competition, and the fees can reach more than $50,000 depending on the categories it competes in.
About half a dozen other key tournaments in June and July had been canceled, but Meisner and her tournament committee persisted. In May, they issued a statement that they were “proceeding with optimism.”
But some teams pulled out, anyway. About 20 remained last week, down from the more than 70 that typically compete. That decline was not the reason for the cancellation, Meisner said. The breaking point, she said, was when oil spread into the waters off the Florida Panhandle last week, leading to intermittent closures of a waterway that leads to deeper water. The federal authorities also widened the area closed to fishing. Click Link Below for full story!
via Oil Spill Causes Offshore Sports Fishing Cancellations – NYTimes.com.
Lake Erie bass trip costs southern anglers almost $50,000 in fines, restitution, 3 boats: Outdoor Notebook | cleveland.com
June 4, 2010
By D’Arcy Egan, The Plain Dealer
June 03, 2010, 1:03PM
Six fishermen from Georgia and Tennessee caught plundering Lake Erie’s smallmouth bass on a week-long fishing trip in late April paid a high price for taking 141 bass over the Ohio limit. The total in fines, restitution and forfeiture of three bass boats cost them $48,290.
Magistrate Lou Wargo of Ottawa County Municipal Court on Wednesday suspended a collective 900 days of jail time, but fined the men the maximum of $250 and $58 in court costs for each of 30 counts, a total of $9,240. They were ordered to pay $7,050 in restitution to the Ohio Division of Wildlife, $50 for each bass. One boat was valued at $16,000, the other two at $8,000 each.
The six men are: Freelan C. Leffew, 66, of Soddy Daisy, Tenn.; his son, Michael Todd Leffew, 38, of Hixson, Tenn.; Freddie Warren, 63, of Wildwood, Ga.; Charles H. Burkhart, 67, and Samuel J. Carroll, 65, of Ringgold, Ga.; and Herbert Samuel Stephens, 58, of Soddy Daisy, Tenn. They lost their Ohio fishing privileges for three years. Ohio is a member of the 34-state Violators Compact, so the men can’t legally buy a license in those states, either, including their home states of Tennessee and Georgia.
“Their attorney argued the men felt they could take a trip limit,” said Lake Erie law enforcement supervisor Gino Barna of the ODOW. “If that were the case, there would be no need for daily bag limits.
“They said they faced the wrath of bass fishermen from around the country after the story got out,” Barna said. “One guy was apprehensive about parking his truck at the court house in Port Clinton, worried his tires might be slashed.”
The ODOW received a tip in late April that the men, who were staying on South Bass Island, were making multiple fishing trips each day to catch bass before the season closed on May 1. They released the walleye they caught, but kept and filleted the bass, filling two freezers. They forfeited the bass and freezers.
Southern Bass Radio Photo Contest 2010
May 17, 2010
We want to see your bass on the Hawg wall! So here’s the deal! Upload your bass success shots and have a chance to win some great prizes. There will be one Grand Prize Winner who will win a $250 Gift Certificate to BassBuckandDuck.Com, an assortment of Tight Line Jigs and the “Hawg Wall Picture of the Year 2010″ trophy. There will be (4) Second Place prizes which includes a $25.00 Gift Certificate to BassBuckandDuck.Com and an assortment of Tight Line Jigs. Other prizes may be added throughout the contest period which runs from 6/1/10 through 12/1/10. Second place winners will be chosen by random. The Grand Prize Winner will be chosen by the public via an online vote of 5 finalists that will be determined by judges representing Southern Bass Radio and MyHuntingandFishing.Com. Pictures will be judged an “quality” of photo and not the size of fish. For complete contest rules click here! Here’s how to enter!
1. Join MyHuntingandFishing.Com here.
2. Make sure to enter a working email address. This is how winners will be notified. We will not share your email address with any 3rd party!
3. Photos are limited to the Black Bass Species which includes largemouth, smallmouth, spotted, shoal, redeye, Suwannee, Guadalupe and Bartram’s bass.
4. Upload your photo. Give us some details about your catch. Under categories be sure and choose Southern Bass Photo Contest. This automatically enters you into the contest.
5. You may enter as many photos as you like.
6. You may also email your photos to thom@southernbassradio.com or scott@southernbassradio.com.
The PGA Tour’s Best Fishing Holes – Forbes.com
May 6, 2010
Monte Burke, 05.04.10, 04:00 PM EDT
At some tournaments golfers hit the ponds between putts.
This week’s Players’ Championship at Pete Dye’s inimitable Sawgrass is unofficially known on the PGA tour as “the fifth major.” But for some tour players the event has become known for something else: as a place where they can score a trophy bass.
A few years ago, as he approached the Par 5, 16th hole at Sawgrass during the tournament’s first practice day, Briny Baird gazed at the three-acre pond that runs down its right-hand side. The sight proved irresistible. As other tour players worked out the kinks in their swings, Baird decided to take a few casts into the pond with a rod he stowed away in his bag for that purpose.
“I moved off the green because I saw a golfer coming,” says the 11-year tour veteran.
But Baird couldn’t resist a cast. And he happened to hook a big fish. The golfer behind him, Tim Petrovic, arrived at the green just in time to help Baird haul in a seven-pound largemouth bass.
Baird has also fished from the green on the 17th at Sawgrass, the island Par 3 that’s arguably the most famous hole in golf. “Fishing is a little harder to pull off there,” he says, “because you always have golfers waiting on the tee.”
To get around that Baird says he usually returns to the hole in the late afternoon, when most golfers have left the course. He slings casts right from the green. “There are some huge bass in that pond,” he says. And there’s plenty of room for your backcast. Click link below for full story!
via The PGA Tour’s Best Fishing Holes – Forbes.com.
Why Shooting,Hunting and Fishing Shows Are Suddenly Relevant | Multichannel News
April 13, 2010
By Mark Robichaux — Multichannel News
By the latest count of the federal government, fewer people have been fishing and hunting in the U.S. over the past decade for a variety of factors, including an aging demographic and habitat loss.
So why are there more hunting, shooting and fishing shows on TV than ever? Not just more shows, but more channels, online content and personalities?
The particular reasons for the increased attention are as diverse as the demographic of the audience: fears that President Obama will push for stricter gun-control laws, a down economy and, perhaps, “kill shots.” And while the fin-and- fur genre on TV is decidedly small, it shows how even in the maturing business of cable TV, some niches are still growing — and are still worth pursuing.
The long-term trends are unsettling because hunters and anglers are by far the biggest contributors to wildlife conservation. Taxes on guns, ammo, and state hunting and fishing licenses generate several hundred million dollars that go toward local wildlife agencies every year. It could be particularly troubling for cable networks — a disappearing audience is not exactly a growth market.
Five percent of the U.S. population 16 years old and older — 12.5 million people — hunted in 2006, according to the U.S. Wildlife and Fisheries Service. From 1991 to 2006, the number of all hunters (16-plus) declined by 11%, while spending on hunting supplies increased 24%. From 1991 to 2006, the number of all anglers (16-plus) declined 16% to 30 million, and expenditures increased 18%.
But the networks and groups that cater to the rod and gun enthusiasts say there’s reason to believe that the federal government’s statistics may be dated now, and there are signs that more people are shooting, hunting and fishing. “The genre remains healthy — there’s still eager demand for this content,” said Willy Burkhardt, president of seven-year-old Sportsman Channel, which reaches more than 25 million subscribers, a fraction of what fully distributed networks reach. “It just hasn’t been served all that well. Quality of service has gone up.”
And the audience has the potential to be big game. “The size and intensity of the outdoor genre, including hunting and fishing, represent a huge cross section of the male population. They’re passionately engaged and committed — in that lies a significant opportunity for growth,” said Outdoor Channel CEO Roger Werner, former CEO of Speed Channel and Outdoor Life Network, which was rebranded as Versus in 2006.
“You take all the golfers and all the tennis players, combined, and they still don’t total as many as the people who fish in North America,” said Mark Rubenstein, CEO of the four-year- old World Fishing Network, which now reaches nearly 4 million subscribers. “This is a pure play.”
Lately, equipment shows for outdoor enthusiasts are setting attendance records, and the latest data from states suggests an uptick in shooting, hunting and fishing. Some forecasts say the outlook is slow, but better than it’s been in years past. The outdoor channels hope to prey on this trend, luring more viewers with updated production techniques, celebrity hosts with attitude, online how-to clips and public-affairs campaigns, such as Sportsman Channel’s “Hunt. Fish. Feed.” tour to contribute harvested quarry to local food banks.
The field is now the province of a few hearty players, mostly stationed on digital tiers, all of whom say demand is strong among distributors. Outdoor Channel, Nielsen-rated and publicly- traded, gained 5 million new subscribers, or nearly 16%, last year to reach 34.5 million homes. Sportsman Channel is owned by Leo Hindery’s Intermedia Outdoors, which also owns a portfolio of 15 magazines, including Guns and Ammo. Smaller players include World Fishing Network, The Pursuit Channel (another hunting/f ishing network) and In Country. Comcast-owned Versus offers some outdoor content, while ESPN airs such shows mostly on weekends.
Some of the newest shows revolve around the growing sport of shooting. Purchases of guns and ammunition around the U.S. rose beginning in 2008, according to permit data and trade groups — a response to the fear that President Obama or the new Congress would at some point pass a law restricting gun rights. Reflecting that trend, a new National Shooting Sports Foundation poll conducted by Harris Interactive found that more Americans are target shooting now than six months ago. The main reason: “home and personal defense.”
Whether it’s post-9/11 security fears, or the need to fire off a few rounds at the range, Outdoor Channel offers nearly a dozen shows on shooting, including The Best Defense and American Guardian TV. And Sportsman has its own lineup, including Handguns and Tactical Impact, which offers tips on situations ranging “from clearing a house to mounting a night assault on a fortified enemy.”
The down economy may actually be helping boost hunting and fishing numbers. The NSSF released a 12-state census in March that shows hunting license sales rose by 3.5% in 2009 and noted, “It is possible that people have more time to hunt and that hunters take the opportunity to fill their freezers.”
Fishing numbers are equally strong. In 2009 fishing-l icense sales grew by 4.7% in the 12 states that participate in the American Sportfishing Association’s licensesales index. Both sports require little in the way of entry costs, but both have potential for expensive gear and travel options — a point not lost on network ad-sales teams.
Even if the next federal wildlife census shows flat growth in hunters and anglers, networks are encouraged by the fact that spending forecasts call for steady but slow growth; the one exception is in boat sales.
Part of the lure of the newer shows, network executives said, is that they’ve evolved so much from the product ion techniques of just five or so years ago.
For example, rock ‘n’ roll soundtracks are popular between hunt scenes. Additionally, the so called “kill shots” — in which the quarry’s death is recorded, were verboten up until a few years ago. Now they’re commonplace. While non-hunters may flinch, the shows are trying to capture the adrenaline- fueled moment when an animal is harvested.
“They should not be shy about showing energy and excitement,” said Bill Brassard, a spokesman for the NSSF. “There needs to be a respect for wildlife and good shows have that balance.”
Burkhardt of Sportsman, whose audience is roughly 25% women, said, “The genre has slowly spread its wings in terms of the styles. There’s much more emphasis on host and story telling and the ‘how to’ element. And it’s increasingly travel-focused.”
And personalities sell. One of Sportsman’s biggest stars, for example, is Kim Bain-Moore, the beautiful blonde star of the fishing show Breaking the Surface, and the fi rst woman ever to compete in the 39-year history of the Bassmaster Classic. On the other end is the network’s Arrow Addiction featuring irreverent host Chris Brackett.
Outdoor’s Werner said his network’s sales force is bringing in new advertisers such as Miller Beer, Golden Corral Restaurants and Ford Motor, based on its concentration of male viewers.
“If you’re selling beer or blue jeans” to middle America, Werner said, “we’re one of the best buys.”
Mason is expert with crappie | The Leaf Chronicle
March 29, 2010
Kentucky Lake fishing guide has knowledge of hot spots
By Owen Schroeder • The Leaf-Chronicle
Garry Mason is one of the top fishing guides on Kentucky Lake and he has learned a lot about catching crappie in his nearly 25 years of guiding on the big lake.I teamed up with a long-time friend to fish with Mason in the Big Sandy area of the lake recently and we were not disappointed. Mason is intimately familiar with that area of Kentucky Lake and he had us on fish just minutes after we left the boat ramp at Buchanan’s Resort.We began fishing stake beds that Mason had placed in 5-7 feet of water along creek channel dropoffs near the shoreline with small jigs tipped with plastic grubs.Mason strictly casts jigs to catch his crappie and he uses a rather unusual technique for his fishing. First, he spools 6-pound test fluorescent chartreuse monofilament line onto light action open face spinning outfits.”Fluorescent chartreuse is attractive to crappie and I believe that crappie can see the line and creep up on it until they see the grub and grab it,” he said. “The color of the line brings the fish closer to the lure.”I don’t know if I truly believe that, but we were catching some awfully big crappie and it is hard to argue with that kind of success.When I say big crappie, I mean big crappie. We did not catch a single fish under 10 inches all day and only a few under 12 inches. Most were 13- to 15-inch crappie with several over 16-inches and weighing more than two pounds. A 2-pound crappie on light action spinning equipment is about all the fishing action that anyone could ask for.Add to that white bass, yellow bass, bluegill and shellcrackers, and you have an exciting day of fishing.Second, Mason casts for his crappie much like bass anglers cast for bass. “Fishing with minnows and vertically fishing jigs requires that you pretty much have to fish directly over the structure,” he said. “If we had fished over the stake beds today, we would have bumped some of them with the boat or trolling motor and spooked the fish.”We were casting red 1/16-ounce Charlie Brewer, double light wire, round ball jig heads tipped with 2-inch Charlie Brewer Slider Grubs. We started off in cloudy morning conditions with clear grubs finished with silver sparkle and clear grubs finished with blue/silver/black sparkle. Once the clouds cleared and the sun came out, we changed colors to hot pink grubs with clear tails and white grubs with chartreuse tails. The white grubs where the best producers of the day.”When I’m fishing for crappie, I use dark colored grubs on dark days and bright colored grubs on bright days,” Mason said. “I also like the Charlie Brewer double light wire jig heads. If you get hung up, you can usually snap them out or you can pull them off as the light wire hook straightens out.”There is truth in what Mason said as we only had one hang-up all day that we couldn’t get out. In about seven hours of fishing using Mason’s fishing techniques, we put 40 slab crappie in the boat that dressed out to six big plastic freezer bags of boneless crappie fillets. Crappie fishing doesn’t get much better than that and you can bet that I will soon have 6-pound test fluorescent chartreuse monofilament line on all my crappie fishing rigs.For further information, Gregg Mason can be reached at 731-593-0171, or by email at grmason@bellsouth.net.
via Mason is expert with crappie | theleafchronicle.com | The Leaf Chronicle.
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