Percy Priest 7-29-10

I don't know why I bother fishing in this heat. I launched my boat in the dark at 5:30 am. Ran a pretty good distance to Hamilton Creek to find schooling (jumps) fish, bass, white bass, stripes or hybrids. Got off the lake at 1pm (early for me) and did not see one single school surfacing. I threw jigs, cranks, Zell Pops, worms, carolina rigs, swim baits and all I had to show was one smallmouth bass about 13.5 " on jig. Lost one other 2 lb largemouth that threw my jig on a jump. Fished flats, creek beds, road beds, islands, shorelines, ledges, bluffs. In other words everywhere. I know there will be a better day but when?

Old Hickory 7-23 & 24-2010

Two days of fishing in 100 degree weather! Yeah, fishermen are nuts.

Friday, I fished with my good friend Doyal Brown from Memphis and in another boat, Phil Robison from Memphis and his nephew Brad Cole. We left Brentwood at 4 am and arrived at the intersection of I40 and Hwy 109. Pulled into MacDonalds for a quick bite. Standing at the counter to order, the power in the whole area went out. After a moment or two, we were asked to leave. We did find a bait shop down the road to get a bite. We were on the water at first light with prospects of fish jumping in the boat. It didn't turn out that way. I did catch a 2.9 bass in the first half hour on a speed worm. Caught a couple of other dinks the rest of the day. Unhappily, Doyal didn't score. Phil and Brad caught a couple of small fish early, then Phil caught a 3 lb in deeper water. We fished the shore grass in several places, then went to the ledges. Just couldn't score. At 11:15 we headed for Flipper's for a burger and air conditioning. Doyal and I went back out to a couple of more places including the Steam Plant canal. I was promised by my good friend Noah that we couldn't miss there, but we did. Since Doyal had to head back to Memphis, we pulled at 2 pm, licking our wounds. Phil and Brad stayed out so I don't know if they did better. Out of respect for Doyal's ordeal of driving back, I waited until 8 pm before I went to bed. After all I had to get up again at 3 am to fish in my clubs tournament.

My partner was ill with a virus so I fished alone. We had 6 boats fishing. I was back on the water at 4:45 and blasting off 20 minutes later at first light. Caught a couple of dinks in the hazy light, 1 was just shy of being a keeper at 11.75" (our club "paper weighs" so we count 12" fish). About 40 minutes later I caught a 16" fish in the shore grass on a motor oil/chartreuse worm. That was my last fish until we "weighed" in at 12 noon. As it turned out I finished second to Rob Kennedy who had a five fish limit with a big fish of 16.25". Noah finished 3rd with 1 fish at 15.75". It was really a rough day with very few bites. Lots of recreational boaters, tournament fishermen and big power boaters on the lake.

The fishing was rough, the heat even tougher but a couple of days rest and I would be ready to do it again. I can't explain what the addiction is to catch a bass but I know it generates a passion that can't be understood by a non-fisherman (like my wife).

Til the next time on the water.

Old Hickory 7-15-2010

Whew! Was it hot. About 96 with 100 heat index. Why do I put myself through it. I just can't help it when it comes to bass fishing. And the fishing was tough as I expected it to be. I finally caught about 8 bass, lost 4 others and 1 white bass. Caught several bass in the shore grass early on a Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed worm in Candy Bug on a split shot rig. Went to the ledges (without knowing a single spot) and caught 1 on c-rig with a baby rattlesnake (by Grande baits). Saw an incredible amount of bait fish. Bass and white bass were chasing all over. A lot of singles but once in a while I saw a wolfpack chasing. I finally caught several with a smoke colored grub out on the shallow ledges adjacent to the river. Had a pronto pup at Flippers long enough to cool off and back to the water. Loaded up at 2 pm which is pretty early for me. I think I have recovered from the heat after sleeping for 12 hours. And, yeah, I would do it again. Probably next week.

Forgot to mention, my trolling motor was toast after my Normandy trip. It seems Motor Guide motors with a transducer are bad about leaking water into the foot. This happened one other time but was covered by warranty. This time the motor was done. Mike at Marine Electric put a slightly used motor without a transducer (which I don't use anyway). Instead of $1300 for a new motor, my charge was $458. Worked great until I was out for a couple of hours when I discovered I had thrown one ear of my 3 bladed prop. Fortunately had a spare 2 bladed one and I was back in business.

Normandy Lake - 7-7-10

Well, I got spanked good on this beautiful middle Tennessee lake. My first time to fish it. It is deep with numerous long creeks, pockets, rock bluffs, gravel points. I caught 1 lm about a pound on a t-rig worm in shallow water and 1 smallmouth about 2 lbs on a c-rig with a magnum finesse worm. It pulled like a 4 lb lm. It is a tough lake in the hot summer. Surprising number of boats on the lake for a Wednesday but this week is a traditional vacation week.

Also, developed trolling motor problems. Going to the shop on Friday and hoping it won't be tied up too long.