Report and Pics - A Few Fishing Trips

[JustinHoffman]

Hello All,

 

Have spent a lot of time on the water as of late. Changing weather and cooling temps. are beginning to affect fish somewhat, some in good ways and others in bad, depending on the body of waters I've fished.

 

Received an invite from good friend and fellow OOD writer Tim Allard to spend a day on the water looking for big bass. Have had great success in the past on this body of water, so hopes were high. Tim had rented a cottage for the full week, but I only had a day to help with patterning the fish.

 

Worked the usual haunts - deep and shallow rock and wood shorelines, mainly tossing a 3/4oz Booyah Flipping Jig and YUM trailer. Fish were present, but not the trophy kind. I did miss a very nice fish that sucked in my jig the moment it touched water, but my slack line (and the fish swimming towards the boat) caused me to miss on the hookset. She might of been the fiver we were looking for, but never bit again. That one was sitting up on some sparse wood over rock, in about 6 feet of water.

 

We ended up with about 30 fish for the day between us, with a mixture of both smallies and largies making up the bag. Most came from water between four and 10 feet deep, with a few found lurking under docks.

 

Here are two of the better fish of the day..

 

 

 

Berkley was kind enough the other week to send me a large shippment of their Powerbait and Gulp Alive plastics, as well as the new Gulp Alive scent. This was my first opportunity to use their Gulp 10" Worms, and they definitely produced. Fish would hold on, giving you an ample opportunity for a hookset. Although a lot of this water is prime for a flipping jig, I did toss the worm around for a bit, and landed my best largie of the day, as well as a decent smallie.

The Gulp Alive scent also works well, and the spray bottle is a nice design for out on the water.

 

 

Towards the end of the day, we decided to work an offshore point in about 14 feet of water. Just before packing up, a large splash happens just off the side of the boat, about 20 feet away. I toss out the flipping jig, hoping it might be a decent smallie. Reel in quickly to cast again, and a fish smacks it at full tilt!

 

Here is the culprit..

 

 

Ended off the day with some delicious tacos, and even better tasting beer..

 

 

Have also spent a few days fishing the Rideau River. Fishing has been relatively good, and the weather hasn't been much of a factor in the catch rates. Fished solo a few times to decent success, then had the opportunity to head out with my good friend Andy for four hours yesterday.

Worked some of my flipping spots and picked up a fish here and there, but nothing great. Worked some deeper water with Senkos and jigs, giving us a couple of pike and a smallie.

At around 1pm, with the sun out strong and the air temps. rising, we decided to revisit some of my shallow water slop areas.

The fish were definitely turned on, and I was more than surprised at how shallow they were sitting. Most came from water less than a foot deep, under floating slop over top of weeds, sand or wood. We also saw a large amount of largies just cruising the shallows, but with the crystal-clear water, they would often spook before we had the opportunity to cast at them.

 

We ended up with 13 largies for four hours work. The best fish of the day fell for Andy's flipping jig. She was up really shallow, sitting on some sparse rock under a mat of slop no larger than three feet in diametre.

 

She had a big head for the size body on her..

 

 

And a mouth larger than my guest's, surprisingly enough..

 

 

A good day on the water for sure.

 

 

Fall is my favourite time to fish, especially when looking for trophys. The boat will be staying wet for many more trips and reports yet!

 

Good Fishing,

 

Justin

Edited September 14, 2007 by JustinHoffman

[fatherof3]

great report and lots of fish,congrats

[solopaddler]

Thanks for posting Justin, great report!

Are those 10" Gulp worms available to the general public yet?

Havn't seen them before, they look deadly...

[JustinHoffman]

Hey Solo,

 

I believe they are. They are called the Gulp 10" Turtle Back Worms, and are available in 13 colours.

 

I will be definitely using them more as the water temperatures cool.

 

Good Fishing,

Justin

[solopaddler]

Hey Solo,

 

I believe they are. They are called the Gulp 10" Turtle Back Worms, and are available in 13 colours.

 

I will be definitely using them more as the water temperatures cool.

 

Good Fishing,

Justin

 

Cool, I'll look a bit closer next time I'm at Bass Pro.

[Toronto_Angler]

Awesome report. I'm a huge fan of the berkley plastics and the spray bottle scent. Always a big producer for me, especially my favorite 3" white grubs

[fishindevil]

Nice catch !!!!! you sure did catch some real nice bass...great pics as well, thanks for sharing...cheers

[lunkerbasshunter]

great report!!! Bass tend to like those big baits this time of year eh

 

Cheers!

[Guest Johnny Bass]

Great Report. When is the water too cold to use jig and pigs and when it gets colder, would a lighter jig work better(slower fall)?

[Dano]

Good stuff Justin. Those are some healthy looking fish, thanks for the report!

[Spiel]

....Always enjoy your reports Justin. But tell me, do you ever get skunked?

[JustinHoffman]

Johnny Bass,

 

The weather is never too cold to use a flipping jig. In fact, they are one of your best choices as the temps. drop. Reason being - they are a verticle lure (meaning a slower presentation), they hold a big profile (great for large, hungry bass at this time of the season, as they are fattening up for the winter), and they can be worked in all sorts of cover or structure.

Although I use them consistently throughout the summer, they are the one bait I pretty much use exclusively come fall time.

 

You can certainly experiment with size, but don't get too caught up in it. Was out yesterday (report to come) and the fish were still shallow (under a foot of water). Was using a 3/8oz jig and had no worries about the presentation dropping too quick. Did have to change up to a 3/4oz model last week, as I was fishing deeper water (5 to 12) feet, and wanted my bait to get down quick to the rock structure, and stay there.

I generally take three flipping rods out on the boat, but will use a 3/8oz model 90% of the time.

 

Spiel,

 

Yep, there are days I do get skunked! ha ha Generally for bass, however, that rarely happens. (can't remember the last time it did..) But, when chasing walleye or musky, those days do occur....just makes you try harder the next outing!

 

Well, off to flip some more bass in the boat - the sun is shining and the winds are calm!!!

 

Good Fishing,

 

Justin

[Guest Johnny Bass]

Thanks for the tips Justin!Will keep trying in the fall. Will use the 1/4 ounce till I lose it but will upgrade all my jigs to 3/8 and up.

[addict]

bass o sweet bass nice pics