Reply With QuoteOny is fishing can you have that much success and the big thing you remember is the big one that got away LOL! Sound like a good trip.
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Fished Ky and Barkley every day since March 28th except for April 1 and 2. Had 63 myself with 11 keepers including a 5-1 and my buddy Chunk had 22 with 9 keepers including his biggest ever 6-4 on Monday March 30th, which was Day #1 of CATCHING.
Day #2 of CATCHING happened Friday April 3rd when I had 74 for the day with 20 keepers including my biggest ever 6-13 plus a 5-2, best 5 went just over 24lbs. Friday starts out overcast, windy, cold wind blowing out of the NW at about 250 miles per hour, really 15-20 but when you are fishing ledges and humps in the mouths of the bays and wind is blowing so hard you trolling motor prop is in and out of the water on every wave, the speed really does not matter. Had 40 fish in the first couple of hours including the 6-13, 5-2 and 4-8 and was calling and aswering the phone making people jealous with pictures that I was sending thru the cell phone. Bite was OFF THE HOOK until one little thing happened, the sun pops out around 11am. Sitting on 55 by 11am and then it took me until 2pm to catch number 64 to break my one day personal record that lasted 4 days. Caught that little dink right next to the ramp and put her on the trailer and headed for my ONE BITE spot, actually Dave Stewart put me onto this spot, but if I am there then it is MY spot, if he is there then I will bow to his greatness and let him call it what he wants. I get to my BIG BITE spot and who is sitting in the vacinity but Geobasser, the fella that hooked 367 bass in one day and landed 3 of them only to blame the line. He had lead core steel cable spooled up this time and still could not land a fish, so now I am waiting on his excuse (could not resist George). I asked him did he throw this one particular bait down this one particular area of this one particular bay and he had not so I pulled in behind him going the opposite way and within 10 minutes have the FISH OF A LIFETIME ON THE HOOK. This fish is not ZZZ-ZZZZ-ZZZ stripping drag, she is ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ stripping drag. I use a G Loomis MH rod, Curado reel, with 14lb Flourocarbon and my drag is set about 12lbs, the same rod I landed the 6-13 and 5-2 that morning and this fish made the 6-13 pull like a 12 incher. She strips off about 20 yards to which I have no answer, I let out a yell to George that this is HER, THIS IS HER, and then she "jumps" more like wollers on top and spits the bit. The fish was the easiest 9 I ever saw and most likely a 10. (I am not one to over-exaggerate my size of fish that get away for I swore up and down that I had a smallmouth on a couple of years ago that was an easy 7, by buddy Chunk always said easy 8 and he was right when I saw a fresh exact replica of an 8-4 a few months ago for my fish was an easy 8 then.) After puking, screaming, puking, screaming, puking, did I mention puking and screaming for a few minutes with my stomache in knots, my next cast gets a 4+ right to the boat and she spits it, then next cast lands a 12 incher. Go on to catch 10 on this spot with 4 of them over 3 biggest weighed exactly 4-0. I had lost a good fish on this spot Monday with chunk and Dave Stewart's clients have lost 3 that were over 8 in this same area this year. Can a man get a mulligan, can I get a trade, I will offer 74 total boated fish a few more that I "GEO'D" (that is long distanced released for those that don't know), included in the 74 are a 6-13, 5-2, 4-8, 4-0 and 18 others that were over 15", for landing that ONE BITE. Fish of a lifetime and I blew it. Don't really know what I could have done differently for the hook was set just as I always do, MASSIVELY, the rod was loaded up, drag was set pretty good but evidently my shot of landing that Big Girl was slim and none and slim was on the WKY heading EAST back to Lexington at about 100 mph.
Over the 7 days on the water, NO PATTERN is established. Fished North KY, South KY, North Barkley, humps and ledges inside the mouths of the bays, humps and ledges on the main river channel, flipped some buck brush, fished the flooded flowers, lead in channel banks, shallow mud banks, pea gravel, main and secondary points, shallow flats, etc etc etc, pretty much every pattern that I know was fished in the best spots that I know. Targeting big fish about 65% of the time looking for 5 big bites of the day and still having to weed out the dinks to get to the quality. Monday sunny all day and we crushed them, Sunday overcast cold rainy and we were on the trailer and watching a movie in Paducah by 3pm, Friday cold windy and overcast early bite is the best I ever seen it, sun comes out and bite literally died - but if it had kept up like it was early it would have been a 150 fish day. Saturday fished the same spots that Chunk and I fished on monday with 85 fish and 20 keepers with 3sons ( Mike with me) and Geo and Dave following me around all day on their first ledge/hump fishing experience and we catch no size at all compared to what chunk and I caught on Monday. Fishing is Fishing, but weird in that after 7 days on the water I don't have a clue as to an exact pattern or weather condition is the best for the bigger bite. I do know that if you tie on a lizard and fish it T Rig on any bank in the 2 lakes you will catch enough dinks that you will get tired of them. You will still catch your occasional keeper but my bigger fish came on a variety of patterns and baits.
I will trade the 250+ bass that I caught over the 7 days personally and even throw in the 100+ that chunk and mike caught with me, plus whatever Geo and Dave caught Fri, Sat and Sun as well for the ONE THAT GOT AWAY. Heading back the 18th thru the 23rd and May 2nd thru the 6th, just maybe she will be around again and come give me some sugar.
Last edited by elnutsmalljaws; 04-06-2009 at 12:34 PM.
Senior Member
Ony is fishing can you have that much success and the big thing you remember is the big one that got away LOL! Sound like a good trip.
Super Moderator
Like my report said last two weeks...they are here, they are there, they are everywhere and every pattern is working...LOL.
If I were on THE SPOT before you, it would be OUR spot....I don't own any spots, nor do I hold back any spots from any of my clients...you know that as well as anyone. Funny thing is I have probably showed or marked that spot for hundreds of clients over the years but it still does not get much pressure...you just gotta be there at the right time and put that bait in front of one of the big girls that hang out there this time of year. My client's actually had 4 of those big girls on this season and all were lost...it happens but normally we get one for every one we lose...I also hooked and long distance released one myself a couple weeks ago. You are right about not jumping..they are too big to get out of the water..they just come up and waller around and shake their big heads before they make that big run.
Anyway, maybe they will still be there biting when you come back down...but don't count on it...it is time for those big ones to lock down on the beds pretty soon.
Good Luck on your return trip...maybe one of those girls will be a late spawner this year.
P.S. I was not the Dave in Geo's boat..had I been he would have been throwing that certain lure on that certain spot...LOL
Senior Member
Woody u r a wild man! Geo'd...that is 2 funny. He's always act'n a fool...we just say "Oh Geo!"
Great seeing you guys! We'll be down around the end of April so I hope that we can hook up at some point when you and chunk are down.
Alan is going to call you.
Senior Member
Fished KY Tuesday afternoon all day, everyday except during the thunderstorm until Friday morning in pursuit of delicious crappie slabs. Success was here and there, definitely better in the afternoons, in deeper water than I would have thought, though I would still consider it shallow. Between me and my three brothers we managed to fill up dads fish cage before we left Friday afternoon due to inescapable income related issues, stupid work, always getting in fishing's way! One of these days work, TO THE MOON! Caught so many little bass casting tubes it was ridiculous. My oldest brother caught his lifetime biggest bass on the trip, naturally it was right after I pulled two keeper largemouth off the point (on 6lb test with a 4' 6" rod) and me and my twin pulled off, that he hooked into it. Sally had the greenest head I've ever seen and deep bronze bars. She weighed 5.4 at the bait shop, don't worry she was released alive but, unfortunately her eggs where lost. He landed her on 6lb test with a broken rob tip and a reel 2 sizes to small for the rod, it made the trip. Ear to ear grins for days. He even taped the 2" chartruese curly tail grub he caught it on to his locker and wrote, "5.4 lb Smallmouth!" on the tape. Came away with a new lucky hat to, and was only forced into the camper for an afternoon. One of the best Spring trips I have ever had.
Senior Member
I know that feeling when you lose your dream fish, makes you sick to your stomach....litereally! Sounds like you still had a good time, I'm not for sure but i think i know the spot on north Barkley you guys are talking about...the secret honey hole. I cant wait I'll be down their from 4/24-5/1 for some fun fishing and hopefully still have some prespawn bite leftAnyway you look at it if you catch 100 bass a day, it doesn't get any better than that.
Senior Member
Dang it elwood I said slow it down. LOL Two weekends and counting big feller and it is on. The more i read your reports the more excited i get. Absolutly cannot wait till it gets here and since you will have a two day jump on me i expect you will have that pattern for me figured out lol. See you in two weeks big guy.
Senior Member
Pattern, already got it. FNF rod, 80lb Braid main line, 3 way swivel, 8' of 4lb flourocarbon leader, 10oz Tungsten sinker, Pink Double Buzzbait with 12" Manns Jelly Worm trailer flipped into the buck brush in 2 feet or less of water and most importantly don't forget to clip your Bob's Bobber to the 3rd way of the swivel for this is the secret to the whole pattern.Originally Posted by dcbasser
Senior Member
Acting a fool................what the HELL
I get no respect.............I guess next time I will leave your butt at Ken Lake Lodge.........
It is funny though.........Woody look me RIGHT in the eye, and said
"you gonna fish that bank?"..........of course, I said NO.........and then BAM, BAM, BAM, smack, BAM, BAM.............woody wore it out.........
You should have heard him yelling about that big ole girl that got away.
Later,
Geo
Senior Member
I now have 400 hundred of them baits...........
Woody was even kind enough to GIVE me one of the baits that was working, I did tie it on, but didn't fish the spot.............DANG.
In all fairness.........I was about 100 yards from where I thought the spot was located. Once I saw Woody, and he told me WHERE the spot was, I was not going to fish it, even though he offered. I knew where he had been, and I suspected he made a special trip just to fish this spot.
Woody had helped me SO much over the past 2 trips, and on COUNTLESS other trips. BUT, now I know.
Later,
Geo
Senior Member
Acting a fool................what the HELL
I get no respect.............I guess next time I will leave your butt at Ken Lake Lodge.........
It is funny though.........Woody look me RIGHT in the eye, and said
"you gonna fish that bank?"..........of course, I said NO.........and then BAM, BAM, BAM, smack, BAM, BAM.............woody wore it out.........
You should have heard him yelling about that big ole girl that got away.
Later,
Geo
So did anyone ever put anymore brush on that bank? Its never been super good to me, but with a little bit more brush is would be the perfect storm for consistency.
Senior Member
I don't think there is any more or less on it than I have found the past 3 years. I do know that one brush pile got a hold of my Lucky Craft and would not let go. My favorite Lucky Craft that has caught somewhere around 150 fish on it in the past 2 springs and I have looked everywhere and can't find this exact depth one. Find the exact color and have several of these in different depths but this one, can't find it. Only place I use it is at Ky and Barkley in the spring and she WAS a good one. It has been great to me and I fish it every time I am on North Barkley and I was fishing North Ky Friday and trailered over just to fish it Friday late afternoon. Love this bank
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