Happy Monday friends! Last week’s fishing report is in, albeit a little late, but hey better late than never! As much as I wish I could say that this was late was due to the fact that I was out fishing, I was not. Nelson and Bobby Roast Beef were able to hit it last week and have some great insights for us!
Nelson was able to get out a couple times after his vacation down to North Carolina. The fishing during my vacation who is the worst I’ve experienced in 11 years. Even the small fish that I usually use for shark bait was scarce. I only caught about 10 of those small fish all week, and usually I’ll catch double that just in one morning. The weather was gorgeous though.
Nelson also added that this time of year, a great way to get some bites is to fish in the shade. Areas like shaded shorelines, under docks, under trees, and of course, Lilypad fields are all great places to get some good bites as the bass will be in the shade away from the sunlight, in slightly cooler water, and protected from most aerial predators.
Good luck out there!! Stay hydrated and be safe!!
Bobby Roast Beef had quite the week! Last weekend he headed out for the first day of the July Jigs and Bigs Multi Species Scavenger Hunt with a mission: to knock out as many of the species that typically have him scrambling to catch during the final week. He reports that his mission was unbelievably successful at a body of water “Up Da ‘Shires”! He managed to check off Sunfish, (with a Tank of a Pumpkinseed), Rock Bass, and a Yellow Perch that just made the minimum length requirement. In total I was able to land in the ballpark of 40-45 fish, mainly various panfish and Rock Bass with an LMB or two mixed in. Bobby said that his focus was shallow water along weed lines, and the real ticket seemed to be the shade too. It was the type of day where it was almost irritating releasing tiny fish, cast after cast. He reported that all of these fish were caught on a tiny spinnerbait with a micro plastic that was chartreuse. We fished until 1pm and then headed to Papa Bob’s in Beckett to celebrate with some cold beers, and some of the best pizza I’ve ever had at a bar in my life… and I’m a guy that had MANY pizzas in bars.
His next outing was on Monday where he set out late morning to get a few hours in, and managed only 1 Largemouth… a nibbler but it was another point (I never even measured the LMBs on the previous trip, derp) Bobby said that the bite overall was unbelievable for how slow it was overall. Mr RoastBeef ended up not having to work on the evening of the 4th, so he decided to take his yak out for a little trip where he had hopes of some top water action, but his wakebait proved to be less than appealing to the fish. Then he decided to focus on simply covering as much water with a buzzbait and while that did get a couple of strikes and a follow from a good size bowfin right up to the edge of the boat. He said that the most action he saw was from a very aggressive beaver that seemed to follow his kayak for hours. I decided to call it a night about 10:30pm, and headed home.
The plan was to get up early Wednesday morning and head to the same body of water for a little redemption! Only… I freaking overslept! So I made it to the launch at 9am, knowing full well I was going to be sweating my teats off once we lost some of the shade… At least I had an abundance of water and a trusty hooded sun shirt. Although I do think I sent it a bit too hard, and having all that water was a smart move… my tenacity for multi species paid off. Bobby said that dead center in the deepest part of the pond, after throwing a brass in-line spinner and covering every gallon of water in this pond, he hooked into his target – a stocker rainbow trout, checking off another species from the list!He then made a b-line to the shade for some relief and to drink about a full quart of water that could only be described as the same temperature as those sketchy hot tubs in Vegas that we won’t talk any more about! Hey, I needed to hydrate and yes I should have taken my nice new cooler, but I’m a moron.
Moving along! He switched gears to focus on two species he knew were in the pond he was fishing; Bowfin have a good and healthy population there, and Chain Pickerel. He said he decided on using a swim jig as his primary bait, and a weightless stick bait as a follow up presentation. Bobby said he was also lucky that he had hit the section of the pond that did have a tiny bit of shade. Not too long after making his way along this shaded bank, he got a big bite from a 14″ LMB. This was very good as I had not yet put any fish into my “any 5” category yet, and this LMB would prove to tack on yet another point to my score. He continued along the bank without a bite and then decided to pack it in. I must add, never in my life has it take so long to load my gear. I took multiple breaks to sit in the AC in my truck, and finished all my water. Friends, I most likely overdid it a bit in that heat… water is great but you need to make sure to keep a salty snack handy because if you have nothing in you to hold that water… you’ll just deplete yourself of it right away. A little Gatorade helped, as did the gallon of water I drank (this time ice cold and shame free).
If none of this multi species scavenger hunt stuff made sense, click this: Jigs and Bigs Nationwide July Multispecies Freshwater Online Tourney on Fishing Chaos
Folks DO NOT forget that tomorrow is Tuesday WHICH MEANS? The new J&B episode! Check out their website or wherever you listen to your major Podcasts tomorrow for the latest and greatest!
Happy fishing folks! Tight lines!
Wild Woman 