Originally Posted by
elnutsmalljaws
Haven't got to fish very much since May but had 5 very memorable days on the water this year. Nothing else to do so I thought I would share. Feel free to post your days to give me some reading to do while I recover.
Day #1 - First week of May and I take my 5 yr old son Joshua and my wife to Ky Lake for our 2nd annual spring trip to the best spring fishing in KY. Of course we get 4 straight days of rain and temps that never saw 80, which is not good to get your son and wife out in. We did get a couple of hours each day of no moisture with the best of it on Sunday. My pride and joy Joshua is up front with me slinging his Zebco 33, sometimes out in front, sometimes out the back and sometimes it never leaves the boat but casting with a bobber with some worms is hard for a 5 yr old. He did very well especially when he landed those 4 shellcrackers that all went over 2lbs each, which we did keep, clean and eat for he LOVES to eat fish. Never seen a 5yr old that will sit there and eat fish after fish. All he wants if fish, no sides, just the main course. He caught crappie, gills, crackers, bass, catfish, white and a drum all on his "bobber and worms" rig as he calls it. Outfished Mommy in the back of the boat a good 10-1 that morning and Mommy could not be any happier, at least she put on a good show. As a matter of fact he outfished her last year and spent the rest of the year telling how "little her fish was and how it was a sardine factory reject because it was so small versus how big his fish was". He loves to fish and he would send me video text messages from my wifes cell to mine in the morning and before he would go to bed every night when I was in the hospital this year. One particular he said he hoped I got better, could sleep in my own bed and asked if we could have a campfire and go fishing. Just as soon as I can get a bet more better, the marshmellows and hot dogs will be roasted one night and the boat will hit either the river or guist creek the next morning with one happy 5 yr old in tow and a happier Dad and Mom as well.
Day #2 - 3rd week of January and my buddy Henson and I head to Dale on the coldest morning I have ever launched. Our families said we were crazy but as usual I call it dedicated. We launch and it is ZERO degrees on the temp guage in my Explorer. The boat is froze to the trailer, the steering cables are froze up, thank goodness for de-icer (which will always be in my boat). We get started ever so slowly and it is COLD with a capital COLD. Head to my #1 hole that has produced so many good 5+ pounders in the past on the fly and within 10 cast I get absolutely hammered. My bobber goes under at Mach 10, a beautiful 5-8 Brownfish has crushed my jig. We get her in the net, lay her on the golden rule 22.5 inches, and she freezes to the rule. Her fins are froze in both the pictures that we took. She was not out of the water long but her fins froze in a matter of a few minutes. Back in the water she goes, but the best part was yet to come. Not 5 minutes later and by buddy Hens lays the hammer on one that again crushes the FNF. She jumps 3 times and we get her in the net and a beautiful 5-4, 21 1/4 incher. Henson's first over keeper smallie. He has had 5 pounders before but they never measured but this one did. 15 cast or so, less than 15 minutes on the water and the trip was a success. Thought we had the lake to ourselves until shortly thereafter in making a move we see 3 more boats that were just as dedicated and stupid as we were.
Day #3 - January 1, 2009 I take Catchemall to Dale for his initial trip to the holy water of smallies and winter time FNF fishing. We launch out of the state parks new ramp and get to the same spot mentioned above and by 7:15 am which is just a few minutes after sunup, I land a 5-1 and then a few cast later a 4-15 to seal the deal. Certainly the first 5 pound brownfish of the new year and certainly the first 10lb sack of Smallies of the new year. Not a bad way to spend New Years Eve, leaving the house a bit past 2am to drive to meet John for the first time, check in at the lodge and hit the water just in time for the big girls to say HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Day #4 - 3rd week of April on Monday and my buddy Henson and I are at Ky Lake doing our spring Largemouth thing. Starts out like any other great morning with Henson landing a nice 6-1 on the first spot within the first few cast of his favorite Fire Tiger DT10 Rapala crankbait the same bait he landed his previous biggest on at KY a year earlier. It is going to be a great day. We go on to land 85 fish between us with 22 keepers and I beat my personal best of 63 for the day and land a 5 pounder just with a few cast before sundown before trying to run the bouys to get back across and take out before dark. We were on quality fish all day long and every spot we stopped at seemed to produce. Caught fish on everything from traps, spinnerbaits, plastics, cranks, jigs, tubes, ..... it all worked.
Day #5 - Same 3rd week of April on Friday. I have went back home on Tuesday and then drove back down from Georgetown on thursday night for more good fishing. This trip is with 3sons, Geobasser and Kansas Dave but they are not coming down until Friday night so I am all by myself as the song says Friday. I launch in North KY and start hammering fish from the first cast with my lizard. Fish after fish and the Northwest wind and overcast skies has kept a few off the water it seems for I had one of the most fished bays on the north side of the lake to myself. I had 30 by 9am, 40 by 10am and then it happened when my Dad called. I land 3 fish with him on the phone including my personal best 6-13, I actually sat the phone down and he heard it all. I took pictures and was sending it by cell phone to everyone I know including George and Mike who were coming down that night. Landed 64 that day by 3pm and then decided to take out and head to North Barkley to the big fish spot looking for that one GREAT bite. I had a 24lb sack as it was and was looking for more. I come around into my big fish spot and who do I see sitting there, GEOBASSER and Kansas Dave. They were going the opposite way of where I wanted to fish and was not throwing the bait I was going to throw. George said the phone calls and pictures was tearing him up so they headed down a bit early because they could not stand it anymore. I literally cot off their motor going in the opposite direction and within a few cast I land a good 4lber and a couple of shorties on this one point that I love and then BIG MOMMA came a calling. She inhaled my rattle trap and was stripping my 14lb Flourocarbon off my Curado / G Loomis combo like it was dental floss being pulled from a container. I let out a yell and the fish kept going then she comes to the top, shakes her GIGANTIC head and spits my trap at me. This fish was a 10 as sure as I am typing this. This spot is a known big fish spot that was so graciously given to me by DAVE STEWART and I fish it everytime I am on North Barkley in the spring. I just sat down in my chair and just about cried. I cast back and start landing fish after fish. Landed 10 in all with 4 keepers for a total of 74 for the day and 28 keepers with a 25lb sack. Needless to say George and Dave was asking for lures so I gave them a couple extra and then stopped at the Cabin and bought $50 worth for them on my way out.
There you have it fellas my best 5 days on the water for 2009 and only hope I can get a couple more in December at Dale before going under the knife again. I left out the 24lb Striper I caught on a Med Action spinning rod on a 1/8 oz jig and 10lb test line at Cumberland, it was the only fish of the night but it was a struggle on that spinning rod. Add a few of your own and give me some reading material, hope you enjoyed these. God Bless
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Re: Best Days on the water for 2009...
Re: Best Days on the water for 2009...
I was so excited I never checked my line after catching that lunker. As I am tying on a new spinner bait my buddy snags something and reels in a long peice of braid. I snag the end and the FISH is still on there. I start pulling line in and lip a 6lbs6oz. We just look at each other and start laughing. Definetely a day I never forget.
