Early morning with Mr. Bass

[JimG.]

Maybe it'll get lost, but I figured I'd throw up a fishing trip report for yesterday. Fishing is my summer stress buster. One of my few easy to do and cheap hobbies.

Got up at 4:30am yesterday. Weather was perfect, clear and cool. Got to the East Branch reservoir on the Croton River, part of the NYC watershed. Water was like glass, no wind. I commented to my buddy Kevin that the weather was too perfect.

To start off, it was. Caught one white perch in the first hour. Then the sun got up high enough to set up excellent shade lines on the eastern shoreline of our drift. Once I saw those shade lines, I put on my chrome silver/black BigO and the action was immediate. Any cast on the sun/shade border was a winner. Several nice 15-17" smallmouths and largemouths were brought to hand and released. All caught on a variety of deep diving plugs.

As we neared the deep rocky point that marks the turnaround point, the action got ridiculous. First, Kevin hooked what appeared to be a 5 pound largemouth and lost it at the side of the boat. After I put down the landing net, I picked up my rod and cast my BigO to the same spot and hooked a 20-22" smallmouth. The fish was so aggressive that I never got to feel its' weight, after 6 successive power jumps near the boat it got off too.

We drifted a little further, stopped for a shore break for 15 minutes, then went right back to the same point. Amazingly, Kevin hooked another 5 lbs largemouth and lands it. I know it couldn't be the same fish as before, but it sure looks like it. So, after the bass is in the boat, I pick up my rod and cast to exactly the same spot I hooked the big smallmouth before and I proceed to hook an even bigger smallmouth. Of course Kevin's lure is all fouled up in the net, but I managed to play the smally to the side of the boat and grab its' lip.

I didn't have a scale, but we measured that fish and it was a solid 24". That's a very big smallmouth for around here. I was thrilled.

Then, just as soon as it started, the fishing died. Like a switch. It was about 10am and the morning frenzy was over. Great day!

I was back home with the weedwacker by 11:30am. Yardwork seemed easy yesterday.

 

[Grassi21]

Nice report. I need to get a little rod and reel set-up for my kayak. I've only been salt water fishing before. But spending so much time on the water it seems like a no brainer. A lot of my friends from HS fish that same area and are die hards.

After endless feedings and diaper changes I poked my head outside around 4:30 pm yesterday. The weather was so nice it was actually a joy to mow the lawn. I wish the weather yesterday would hang around all summer.

 

[JimG.]

Nice report. I need to get a little rod and reel set-up for my kayak. I've only been salt water fishing before. But spending so much time on the water it seems like a no brainer. A lot of my friends from HS fish that same area and are die hards.

After endless feedings and diaper changes I poked my head outside around 4:30 pm yesterday. The weather was so nice it was actually a joy to mow the lawn. I wish the weather yesterday would hang around all summer.

Yesterday was exceptionally nice.

Back to humidity and rain today.

Fishing out of a kayak would be interesting...I could see myself being pulled all over the lake trying to land an aggressive, large fish. Sounds like fun.

We use a flat bottom john boat...basically a rowboat with a flat hull instead of a V-hull. The extra stability is good to have with more than one person in the boat.

 

[Grassi21]

My 'yak is pretty sporty and measures in at 22" for the width. I think its a Greenland style. Not much to offer in terms of stability but its pretty quick. I'm just looking to drop a line for a few short spells to pass some time on the water.

 

[JimG.]

Just got a call from my buddy Kevin...he went out for a few hours this morning and the fishing was pretty much the same. Little action until the fog burned off and the sun came out, then the action got good once the shade lines set up. The rocky point again produced several nice fish although none the size of those we caught on Sunday.

I'm planning an evening trip with another friend Steve on Friday. Hoping to get to the reservoir by 3:30pm.

 

[marcski]

O.k call me one-dimensional, but I thought you had an early morning breakfast or a hike with Dick Bass, the owner of Snowbird when I saw this thread's title.

 

[JimG.]

O.k call me one-dimensional, but I thought you had an early morning breakfast or a hike with Dick Bass, the owner of Snowbird when I saw this thread's title.

Now you know how I feel when you biking guys start a thread titled "Best Lubrication".

Sort of anyway.

"Mr. Bass" actually refers to a song title. I forget the name of the artist, but it's about bass fishing from the fishes perspective.

 

[jack97]

My original thought after reading the title was that Jim was suffering from summer depression and needed to start the day with a bass ale.

 

[JimG.]

My original thought after reading the title was that Jim was suffering from summer depression and needed to start the day with a bass ale.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...Bass Ale.

Well, I might stay up until 4:30am drinking Bass, but I doubt I'd get up at 4:30am to start drinking them.

 

[Rushski]

Those are some big Smallies.

And I also swear by the BigO for bass before pretty much before any other lure is taken out of the tacklebox. Great for night fishing as well - prefer the chrome/black back.

 

[JimG.]

Those are some big Smallies.

And I also swear by the BigO for bass before pretty much before any other lure is taken out of the tacklebox. Great for night fishing as well - prefer the chrome/black back.

BigO rules! Many Cotton/Cordell lures are classics. I swore by the Rattlin' Spot for years too, but that was a better weed line lure and the weeds occasionally die off during droughts when the res goes down. Right now we're weedless. Which is excellent for night fishing; we've caught many bass on BigO's at night. The rattles get them every time.

The East Branch has always been my favorite northern Smallmouth lake. It's small, but it has superior rocky and deep shorelines, some shallower sandy shorelines, alot of points both shallow and deep, and thickly wooded shores. It also has 3 big islands and a smaller one, all rocky and wooded. And it has a considerable deep section that's about 50' feet deep. All of the biggest smallies I've seen or caught came from the East Branch.

The one I caught Sunday was my biggest ever. But there are also Largemouths, Walleye, Pickerel, Brown Trout, and lots of different Panfish to be had also. I've never had a boring day there.

As an added bonus, the river that feeds it (the East Branch of the Croton river) is loaded with native Brook Trout. That's a beautiful drfit in a canoe if you go 5-10 miles upstream after spotting a car.

 

[Rushski]

BigO would be probably my favorite Bass lure.

For Trout in almost any body of water would be various size Rooster Tails - Fly Fishing is fun, but spinners are just as effective - if small enough.

 

[JimG.]

For Trout in almost any body of water would be various size Rooster Tails - Fly Fishing is fun, but spinners are just as effective - if small enough.

Super Vibrax/Blue Fox spinners are my pick when I'm spinning for trout. An ultralight rig with a #0 or #1 for streams, medium action rig with a #4 or #5 for lakes.

I like to fly fish, but sometimes it's more hassle than it's worth. Depends on my mood. I need relatively open water for fly fishing or I spend alot of time in the branches.

 

[JimG.]

Well, on Friday I met my buddy Steve at the East Branch, but we never got out in the boat. Steady rain and 55 degrees (in mid-August!) made the thought of boating heinous. So we cast from shore for 2 hours. Caught nothing. Not a good day to fish, the weather was way too weird and the fish seemed dormant.

So, after my work was done, I went out solo yesterday. Got there at 3:00pm. Caught a 17" largemouth on my third cast or so. Had another strong hit that I missed hooking solidly. There was alot of action in the river channel right near our boat spot. Lots of baitfish being chased. I debated staying put, but decided I had alot of time to explore. So I went out into the main body of the lake. Fished many good spots like the Boulder, Campsite point, the Cliff, and Killer Cove point. Didn't get a nibble.

So I started back to the boat spot; as soon as I got off the main lake into the river channel, I caught a 12" smallmouth, followed by another 17" largemouth. The action in the channel had intensified and there were splashes and baitfish being chased everywhere. So, I let the breeze push me towards home and drifted in the midst of the action, casting as I went. Caught a few more little smallmouths.

Then I noticed the action was dying. A cold front was approaching and the fishing was about to turn off. I threw my BigO behind the boat and trolled towards home, happy with the afternoon. Then it happened; my rod bent double. Good thing I took the time to put it in a rod holder or it would have been a swim for the rod overboard. I set the hook and felt an unusual weight on the end of the line. Must be a snag. So I started pulling on the rod, trying to dislodge the lure. Then I felt a shake. Then my line took off to the right, perpendicular to my trolling line. When the line went taught, my rod almost got pulled out of my hands. The fish tore about 30 yards of line off the drag, shook its' head again, and it was gone. I was shaking.

Who knows what it was, but it was exciting. After I pulled into shore, I looked back at the channel and it was calm. No action, fishing over. The last 5 weeks or so have been awesome.

 

[bigbog]

...ooooo, that heavy feel when they take...

Definitely sounds like it was a big something JimG...

 

[JimG.]

Definitely sounds like it was a big something JimG...

The more I think about it the more I'm convinced it was a big carp. Years ago my buddy Steve foul hooked one the same way, trolling in the river channel. And it fought the same way, just bulling and tearing off line from the reel.

Except he landed his.

 

[Rushski]

Carp are definitley heavy, but dead weight. Doesn't seem like a Carp as they really don't fight too hard usually - normally they just resist by their weight.

 

[JimG.]

Carp are definitley heavy, but dead weight. Doesn't seem like a Carp as they really don't fight too hard usually - normally they just resist by their weight.

The only other choice is big largemouth then.

Not really the right time of year for carp to be cruising around anyway. You're right, the carp he landed didn't really fight, but it weighed at least 20 pounds so it just ran off line by swimming.