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GIFT IDEAS FOR ANGLERS
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heck out these great gift ideas for the outdoor enthusiast on your holiday gift list. These local merchants are available to ensure your holiday gift giving satisfaction. We always try to encourage our readers to shop locally. It’s our community and we all benefit from supporting our local businesses. They’re here for us all year long and our personal convenience depends on their sustainability. Tell them Coastal Angler/The Angler Magazine sent you. By the way, if you see something here that you wish could be under the tree with your name on it, just take out a marker and circle it. Then leave this page open for your friends and family to see. Yes, crude but effective. Happy Holidays from all of us at Coastal Angler/The Angler Magazine.
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By James Bradley
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TIPS FROM A PRO
NORTH CAROLINA
W
BRANDON LESTER
hen water temperatures dip into the 50s, I like to take a few days to leave my bass fishing gear at home and go crappie fishing. Most folks equate crappie with spring, but I’m here to tell you the winter bite is as good as it gets. Not only do crappie taste better when you pull them from cold water, they seem to run larger than they do when they’re up on the banks in the spring. And when you find them piled up, it can lead to a cooler full very quickly. Crappie stack up in large schools this time of year. If you know what to look for, it’s not hard to catch them. Finding good cover is always the ticket when it comes to crappie, and this is especially true during the winter months. On many reservoirs, boat docks are prime crappie cover. It seems like there are a few magic docks that always hold fish, and I also like to hunt them down with my Raymarine electronics. With the SideVision mode, it’s just a matter of idling around potential holding water and looking for them. They will be in big winter schools, so I might cruise past 50 docks before hitting on the mother lode. Once I see them on the SideVision, I’ll drop an Aqua Vu camera down to make sure they are crappie and see how big they are. I’m looking for depths of at least 20 feet beneath a dock. For obvious reasons, these deep-water docks are floating docks, and that’s something you can look out for. I have found them around docks with 60 feet of water under them, and the fish will be suspended 8 to 15 feet from the surface. If your lake or river has mostly fixed position docks with poles, crappie will get on them as well. The best way to narrow the search on
permanent docks is to look for the ones right on the edge of a creek or river channel. With a good map card like Navionics platinum these places are easy to find. If you can find a dock that has a little brush on it, you can almost bet there will be crappie around. Once you find crappie, cast exactly where they are or just beyond. Winter crappie have a very small strike zone. Count your bait down to the desired depth, and reel just fast enough to maintain that
By Carlos Hidalgo
M
enhaden are one of the most important baitfish on the Atlantic coast. Bunker, as menhaden are commonly called, are thin when looked at from the top but very wide from the side. Small bunker, referred to as peanut bunker, are easy to mimic with Flat Wings, Hi-Ties or any number of specialized patterns. Flies that represent big bunker, however, pose challenges. Think of casting a wet mop head, and you’ll get the idea. The other problem is that flies compress when stripped through the water. A fly with a wide profile on the tying vise can end up looking like a strand of spaghetti in the water. Capt. Chris Newsome grew up fishing the lower Chesapeake Bay in Virginia, where bunker make up as much as 80 percent of striped bass diets. As a fly fishing guide, Chris needed to come up with a large bunker fly that was easy to cast and kept its wide profile. The idea of how to accomplish this came to him one night when he was woken up by his crying young daughter. Instead of tying bucktail and saddle hackles directly on the hook, Chris thought to tie the material onto small pieces of wire, which would then be tied onto the hook. Since the fly is made up with a relatively small amount of material, it’s easy to cast. The angle of the wires ensures the fly keeps its wide profile in the water. The fly has been very effective for stripers and can be used for any gamefish that feeds on wide-profile baitfish.
Wired Bunker Fly
depth. My favorite jig head is a 1/32-oz. ball-shaped jig head with a good sharp Mustad hook, but I will go up to a 1/16 oz. if the wind is blowing or I’m fishing deeper than normal. The natural bait is going to be larger this time of year, so soft-plastic minnow imitations in the 2-inch range with a straight tail will work. I use a S721 MHX rod built with supplies from Mud Hole Custom Tackle, including a Winn grip. It is 6 feet long, super-sensitive, and has the perfect action for controlling small baits. I team it with a 1,000-size spinning reel and 4-pound Vicious Panfish line in fluorescent green. The green line helps detect light strikes.
Get more tips from Lester at
FISHINGMAGAZINE.FISHING
Hook – Tiemco 600SP, size 2/0 to 6/0 Thread – Danville flat waxed nylon, 210 denier Wire – Malin Hard Wire, size 1/0 Tail – bucktail topped by four saddle hackles tied flat Wing – four saddle hackles surrounded by bucktail tied onto ½-inch wire pieces Belly – long, thin bunches of bucktail tied onto ½-inch wire pieces Eyes – 3-D prismatic, 3/8” to 3/4” Glue – Beacon 527 Place a piece of wire in the vise and tie a thin bunch of bucktail onto it. Make several of these units. Next, tie several components made up of four saddle hackles surrounded by bucktail onto pieces of wire. Flashabou can be tied onto each component. Begin by tying a thin amount of bucktail topped by four saddle hackles tied flat onto the back of the hook. Move the thread up the shank and tie a wing component (one with hackles) on top of the hook and a belly component (one with just bucktail) on the bottom of the shank. Keep moving the thread up the hook shank and tie at least two more wing and two more belly units. Bend the wire pieces until satisfied with the fly’s profile. Glue each tie-in point, and finish by gluing eyes onto the sides of the fly. Contact Capt. Chris Newsome at 804-815-4895 or chris@bayflyfishing.com. Check out his website BayFlyFishing.com. Contact Carlos at cah6620@gmail.com if you would like to submit a pattern for consideration in this column or if you would like to order my book, “South Florida’s Peacock Bass.”
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Manage Your Time Better for More Fish
By Jay Striker
E
ach year before the bass tournament season starts, I practice new techniques and tune-up the ones I’ve mastered. Whether it is electronics, skipping jigs, fishing ledges, etc., you have to practice to get better. One night before going to the lake for some practice, I decided to work on time management. Time is something that always costs me in tournaments. I’ve realized that time was not my enemy, how I managed it was. Tournament anglers have eight hours to catch five good fish by 3 p.m. I started with the basics. I broke it down by allocating one hour
for travel from spot to spot and to get back for the weigh in. That left seven hours of fishing. During map study, I found seven spots I could fish for an hour each. Believe it or not, that’s a lot of time to fish one area. I decided that if I got bit at any time, I might need to adjust my time-management plan on the water, but at least I had a plan. A mistake I see many anglers make is staying too long in one area. Bass are opportunistic, and if they are ready to eat, they are going to eat. If I have not gotten bit in a certain amount of time, I will do one of several things: change baits, change colors, change locations and, many times, change speed. Focusing on time management, I have found that discipline and staying focused is a key part of the game. My plan started out just as planned. I fished the first spot for an hour, and then ran to the next and fished it for an hour. When I got to my third spot, I started getting bites. So when the time came to leave, I simply stayed at that spot for 15 minutes longer, which meant I only had 45 minutes at one of my other areas. I was looking for a pattern. If it was determined the fish were only halfway back in the coves, I could concentrate only on those areas where I was getting bites and save time. I could now expand my fishing areas and places to fish, staying on each spot for maybe 30 minutes. Now, instead of having only seven spots to fish, I could get to 11 or 12 spots in a day and still be back on time. Time is something we cannot make more of, but it is something that can be managed. I recommend tournament anglers who struggle with time management buy a baker’s timer, set it for however long you want to be on each spot, and stick to moving each time it goes off. For me, timing my areas allows me to be more efficient all the way down to how I cover a certain area and to the rotation of baits I’m using. Stop blaming time and start managing it better. Check out pro bass angler Jay Striker’s website at www.jaystriker.com.
LAKEHICKORY&RHODHISSFORECAST
S
triper fishing on Lake Hickory and Lake Rhodhiss in December is all about putting in the time. December is typically not the best month for fishing but if your a die hard striper fisherman and willing to put in your time it can be great. The water is cold enough and bait is everywhere which means the stripers are too. On both lakes I’m going to start every morning trolling bucktail jigs, sassy shads, and big crank baits on leadcore line and downriggers. This is how I’m going to start locating fish, but the beauty of this is I’m also fishing. When the fish get scattered out like they do this month this is the only way to efficiently find different schools of stripers because you simply can’t cover enough ground pulling live bait. I’m going to hit all my typical spots like creek mouths, humps, sand bars, and shallow flats looking for schools. If you’re lucky you will probably put a fish or two in the boat this way also. After locating 3 or more different schools of stripers trolling with bucktails and the big motor it’s time for the live bait. This is what brings the bruisers over the side. Now that I know where some schools are I’m going to put out a spread of different size gizzard shad on down lines and planer boards on top and all around those schools. Typically I’m going to run four downlines anywhere from 15ft to 40ft. depending on where I’m marking fish. Any depths from 15 up will be covered by the planer boards, and controlled by how much line is let out behind the planer board. Put in your time and work what schools are there if you’re not getting bites move on to another school. Keep doing this, before the day is over with you will have a few nice December stripers. www.coltbassfishing.com
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LAKE NORMAN FORECAST
D
ecember is primetime for hybrids, stripers, and the other predatory gamefish in Lake Norman. Water temperatures throughout the lake should be close to ideal, 50-55⁰ F, unless we have an unusually warm or cold start to winter, which certainly isn’t uncommon in central North Carolina. Large schools of forage, primarily small-medium size herring, threadfin shad, and alewives form in major drainages above and below the Hwy 150 bridge. Depending on actual water temps and other conditions (wind, light, etc.) the bait can be found in major creek mouths, midway back along the creek channels, and sometimes even close to the mudflats way back where the creeks enter the lake. Sea birds typically start showing up in November, and are excellent indicators of where concentrations of bait and gamefish are on any given day. In the cool water, schools of hybrids, stripers, spotted bass, white perch roam freely throughout the water column. Surface feeding, and surface catching, opportunities can take place anytime, especially on low light days. Catfish are often below this activity, often around humps and ledges near points or flats. The methods for catching our gamefish are numerous. I’m an old live bait fishermen and live shad, herring, or even store-bought trout or shiners are effective. They can be fished on free lines or weighted lines to reach the desired depth. I use Carolina rigs with 1/0-3/0 circle hooks, FISH TALK–FISHIN’ WITH CAPT. GUS! but j-hooks and trebles are still used too. You might consider fishing barbless hooks if you go with the latter, especially if you plan to release your catch alive and healthy. Since the introduction of blueback herring into Lake Norman, the action is often found in open water along deep creek channels, or the river channel as winter progresses. Trolling artificials (see my article on pg. 7 about my typical trolling spread for artificials), which
can be pulled at higher speeds than live bait, has become a widely used technique that allows one to cover more water while tracking the fast moving action. Casting swimbaits and bucktails singularly, or as part of multi-hook rigs is a widely used practice. 1/16-3/8 oz. jigheads and bucktails are recommended, and I like red on white, all white with some tinsel, or some combo of white and chartreuse for my bucktails. I use swimbaits, paddle or curly tail, 3 to 4” long in the same colors, or in shad/herring patterns. Vertical jigging is another effective option when you can stay over the fish. I go with 1/2-1 oz. lead jigging spoons in white, chartreuse, or fire tiger depending on the depth I want to reach and wind conditions. I find I’m using more and more Gulp Alive swimming mullets for casting and trolling. The curly tail design has a great swimming action, the profile and length are good for Lake Norman, and the built-in scent is an added attractant. White or chartreuse are the only colors I carry. If I’m not fishing Gulps, I often use a shad scented spray or gel additive on my swimbaits. Finally, though not widely encountered (yet) as the above techniques, our gamefish are quite reachable with fly rod presentations. 7 to 9 weight rods with forward weighted, sinking lines and 2-3” shad pattern flies in, you guessed it, white/chartreuse, can be as effective, even more so at times, than all of the above approaches. Find the bait and find the fish is the mantra for early winter fishing here. Seabirds and/or a large concentration of boats in one area are proven tell-tales that feeding fish are in the area. By Capt Craig Price, FISH ON! Guide Service, www.folkn.com
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My Typical Winter Artificial Trolling Spreads
By Capt Craig Price
W
ith fall temperatures upon us and winter coming soon, below I describe my fall-winter trolling spreads which utilize multi-hook rigs of various sizes and configurations. I mainly troll artificials in deeper water associated with the river channel or major creek channels. I like to be able to cover the water column from deep to near the surface, but some days I may fish all of my presentations in one zone. Think of my setup as a starting point for your own efforts. Keep in mind that I adjust the number of rods and the types of lures and rigs in my spread based on varying factors, and you should too. These variables include the number of anglers on the boat, the time of year, time of day, light and wind conditions, water depth, daily observations of how the bait and fish are behaving, etc. Let’s start in the back of the boat and work forward. Stern Position(s) – Running 1 or 2 full sized umbrella rigs as “dredge(s)” from my splash-well rocket launchers allows me to see the rigs on my sonar where I can closely monitor their depth. These are by far the heaviest rigs I pull, and they’re useful for getting lures down deep, typically 50-60 ft. I use 7.5 ft. med-light Ugly Stik striper rods and Penn 975 reels spooled with 30 lb. Berkley Big Game mono and 9-drop umbrella rigs. Coated stainless steel or heavy fluorocarbon leaders are needed, and I usually deploy red on white 3/8 oz. bucktails on all but 1 or 2 positions. Note this variance – it’s often productive to mix in a different color or more flash on 1 or 2 of the drops. Many anglers think, and I agree, this step allows the predator to quickly identify one bait out of the pod that’s different - injured, weak, i.e. easier to catch. Curly tails or worm-like trailers can be added to create larger profiles and more swimming action as preferred. From my gunwale rodholders at the stern, I deploy Alabama rigs of different sizes and weights. I like Shane’s Baits multi-lure rigs because they are light, durable, resemble a closely packed pod of bait, and can be repaired when needed. I fish 7.5 ft. Penn Battalion rods with Penn Conquer spinning reels spooled with 30 lb. Trilene Tracer Pro Grade Braid. I typically rig the 9 drops with relatively light jigs and swim baits. 2-3” shad or herring colored bodies on 1/16-1/8 oz. jig heads are a good choice, but the options are plentiful. I always have shad colored bodies on 1 of the A-rigs, sometimes both, but I often experiment with different colors on the 2nd rig. I fish these lines 80-100 ft. behind the boat, and they track 15-25 ft. deep depending on boat speed. I tie on a 20# fluorocarbon leader if I think the braid is too visible, but I’m not convinced it’s necessary when dragging “antennas” through the water. Moving forward again, I fish a number of different lures and rigs, but most often I’m running tandem bucktail rigs, weighted with egg sinkers or trolling weights to run 15-30 ft. deep. Crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and spoons can be effective too. I’m mindful of not running these lures too far behind the boat, or they tangle with the dredges when I zig and zag my trolling course. These lighter lures I fish on 7 ft. Fenwick HMG rods with Abu spinning reels spooled with 20# Berkley Pro Spec line in dark green. Note that I haven’t mentioned lead core line or down planers though many local anglers use one or both. This is a matter of personal preference. I’ve tried both, but I think my way allows me to use lighter rods and reels. There are many ways to catch fish and every angler has to develop techniques that suit his/her needs. Use my approach for any benefit it provides. It’s produced plenty of Fish On! moments for my anglers.
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CHARLOTTE/PIEDMONT 7
Tips from a PRO by Brandon Lester
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ishing a Jerkbait When the water is cold, you very well may catch the biggest bass of your life. Besides perhaps a swimbait or a jig, a hard-plastic jerkbait is one of the best bets for a personal best. One of the biggest reasons jerkbaits excel in cold water is the bait stays in the strike zone for long periods of time. Suspending models can be paused for up to a minute to entice sluggish bass. A jerkbait also imitates the baitfish that typically die-off in large numbers in cold water. Your retrieve cadence is key, so experiment with your pattern of twitching the bait until the fish tell you what they want. As you figure out how quickly the bass want the bait worked, you can actually cover a good amount of water with this technique as well. Jerkbaits are most effective when the water temperature is below 55 degrees and visibility is at least 2 feet. Here are some other key guidelines to effective jerkbait fishing. Where to fish a jerkbait? • Steep banks on the main lake • Points at the entrances of spawning pockets • Anywhere you see suspended baitfish on your electronics • Try and figure out what type of rock or bottom composition the fish are relating to (i.e. bluff banks, chunk rock, gravel, mud) and focus there. Transitions between different types of rock are often best. Equipment • Baitcasting reel with 6:4:1 gear ratio • 10- to 12-lb. Vicious Elite fluorocarbon, depending on desired depth and cover. The lighter the line, the deeper depth the bait will reach. • MHX SB812 baitcasting rod by Mud Hole Custom Tackle. Has an X-Fast fast action with medium power. • I like a 6’9” jerkbait rod with a fairly short handle so clothing doesn’t get in the way when working the jerkbait. The short handle also helps prevent wrist fatigue. • For baits, my favorites are the Megabass Vision 110 and the Lucky Craft Pointer. Colors • On sunny days, use more neutral colors with transparency. • On cloudy days, use gold and brighter colors with more flash and color. You can fish a jerkbait with the rod tip pointed either up or down. I fish it with the rod tip down, so I use a shorter rod to eliminate hitting the water with the rod tip. Your stature must also be considered for rod-length selection. The rod guides are crucial in rod efficiency and need to be set up specifically with the flex of the rod tip. That’s the benefit in custom rod building. I use a custom rod that I built myself on a MHX blank. As a matter of fact, I build all of the rods I use.
Learn everything you need to know about the benefits and satisfaction of custom rod building at www.mudhole.com. For more about Elite Series Pro Brandon Lester, visit www.BrandonLesterFishing.com or www.Facebook.com/ProAnglerBrandonLester 8 CHARLOTTE/PIEDMONT
DECEMBER 2017
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10 CHARLOTTE/PIEDMONT
DECEMBER 2017
COASTALANGLERMAG.COM • THE ANGLERMAG.COM
Planting Good Crappie Cover By Nick Carter
Good cover is paramount to good crappie fishing. The migrations of crappie—along with the baitfish they feed on—will take them shallower and deeper and to different places of the lake depending on the season. But no matter where they are, they will be found in cover. In spring, crappie can be easy pickings right up on the banks. Throughout the rest of the year, boat docks can be the ticket to filling a cooler quickly. If it’s not boat docks, it’s brushpiles. And docks with sunken brush are sure-fire fish attractors. But those brushpiles typically don’t just fall out of the sky and find their way to the bottom of the lake. They were put there, by anglers, CATFISH FORECAST to create fish-holdingLAKE habitat.WYLIE That habitat is beneficial to the fish that utilize it, and it can also make for a darn good fishing spot. Good crappie anglers will have a milk-run of such brushpiles marked on their electronics that they can visit year after year with consistent results. But fish attractors and brushpiles do not last forever. Wood decays in water, and one day the angler will start to notice their old honeyhole just doesn’t produce like it used to. While you read this with your feet kicked up in front of the fireplace, there is likely a bushy blue spruce or Fraser fir glimmering with lights in the corner. As a crappie angler, your mind’s eye should now produce a visual of what that tree would look like 15 feet under water, stripped of most of its needles and harboring small shad and big school of fat slabs. Since brushpiles break down, it is incumbent on anglers to replace the cover fish utilize. Plus, until everyone else finds it, you’ll have created your own personal hotspot. But we all know some brushpiles are better than others. The most important factor in creating cover that fish actually use is location. Brush does not make fish, it attracts them, so pick a place that fish are already using. Bends in creek channels, ledges, docks, the first drop off of the spawning flats, these are all likely locations. If there’s an
old brushpile you know of that used to produce, that’s a good spot to freshen up with new brush, as well. The time of year you’ll be fishing your new spot is also worth consideration. If you’re a die-hard crappie fisherman who chases them year-round, it’s worth planting cover at different depths for different times of year. In winter and summer, crappie find comfort suspended above depths of sometimes 30 feet or more. In spring they might be as shallow as 2 feet deep. The rest of the time, they’ll be somewhere in between. How you build your brushpile makes a difference, too. Since there is getting ready to be a glut of Christmas trees available, let’s discuss those. When they start showing up roadside for the garbage truck, throw them in the back of the pickup and save them until you have a small collection. Cutting a few limbs out of each tree makes holes predatory fish can use as ambush spots. With concrete blocks and heavy gauge wire, anchor them so some of the trees will sink vertically and some will lie on their sides. You might even consider doing the same with big limbs lying around in the yard from winter storms. The best brushpiles are constructed with multiple different materials.
Now that you’ve got your materials collected and anchored, it’s time to recruit some buddies and go for a boat ride. When you get to the location you carefully selected, all that’s left to do is throw Christmas overboard. Sinking brush is a great activity for fishing clubs, and the depths of winter—when the fish aren’t as cooperative—is a great time to do it. It could pay huge dividends when things begin to thaw out. Be sure to contact the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission to make sure it’s legal to plant brush in your lake, and try not to place them in high traffic areas or anywhere they might be an obstruction.
LAKE WYLIE FORECAST
D
ecember can be a tough month to fish. The fish for the most part have gone deep. Bass fishing has slowed down and they are hard to catch. But there are still places you can go. The South Fork river is the place to fish in the winter. When Duke Power pulls the water it heats up the water down to the mouth of Mill Creek. That’s where I would fish for bass. You can catch a ton of crappie and white perch using a two hook minnow rig trolling at .5 mph on 30-40 feet of water. The catfish will be in the mouth of the creeks and river channel. Sometimes the main lake flats are good bets. Winter fishing on Lake Wylie can be good if the weather warms up for a few days. It’s good to get out of the house once in a while in the cold days of winter. You might be surprised at what you catch! COASTALANGLERMAG.COM • THE ANGLERMAG.COM
DECEMBER 2017
CHARLOTTE/PIEDMONT 11
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LAKE HIGHROCK/BADIN TUCKERTOWN DAM FORECAST
W
inter is finally upon us but that does not mean you have to stop fishing. December can be a great month to catch some really nice ones. With the cooler weather the competition for your favorite fishing area decreases. Crappie can be had on all three lakes by slow trolling for suspending fish. The depth can vary depending on water temperature but usually trolling about fifteen feet down is a good depth to start. When I say slow trolling I mean really slow trolling or even just drifting. Look for areas where the depth changes suddenly. A drop off where the water depth changes suddenly by five to ten feet can be a really good area. Live minnows or jigs are excellent baits for this type of fishing. I like the Kalin’s® Triple Threat 2” Grubs best for trolling. We stock a wide selection of these at Hwy. 49 Sporting Goods. A 1/16 round jig head works best unless the fish are very deep, if they are then use a 1/8oz jig head. If you have several unusually warm days the fish may move up shallow and can be caught around the brush or timber using the old cork and minnow/jig rig. Largemouth Bass can be found around drop offs or rocky areas that extend from shallow water out into deeper water. This is the time of year when a 3/8oz or 1/2oz jig can be the ticket to some great action. I like the Dave’s Tournament Tackle Football jig and the Lunker Lure Rattleback jigs for this type of fishing. If the water temperature is very cold work the jig very slow and just let it set for a few seconds before moving it. If the water temperature is in the 50’s or higher fishing docks or piers with small medium diving crankbaits or spinnerbaits can do the job. Catfish will react to the colder water by going deep. Look for deep holes. The holes do not have to be very deep, just deeper than the surrounding area. Traditional baits work well during this time. Cut shad or bream are good baits as well as chicken livers, packaged baits, and night crawlers. Striped Bass are by nature more suited for cold water and they will stay more active in colder water than most other fish in the lakes. Watch the birds, diving birds can indicate striped bass feeding below. You can use crankbaits or topwater lures to catch these actively feeding fish. Be cautious when approaching a school of actively feeding stripped bass. Running the boat right into them will often spook the fish and they may disperse and leave the area. If the birds are not feeding then try trolling a bucktail jig or 4” plastic shad body on a one ounce jig head. From all of us at Hwy. 49 Sporting Goods we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year. By Darin Brown
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work all year for multiple catches when you can get on a school of fish. Crappie have also been doing really well for the last few weeks jigs being the number one $ producer, Gene Larew Baby in various colors per year have been the number one selling jig for the past few weeks because The most comprehensive on-water the market! the body shape andassistance actionontends to draw $ more strikes in the cooler Full suite of on-water assistance water. Trolling is producing some nice fish as is fishingper brush piles just year don’t overlook the shallow bite it can beThe really good if you chose most comprehensive on-waterthe assistance on the market! right spot and time of day. Full suite of on-water assistance Largemouth bass$ have also been doing very well, jigs with large per year chunks have been Same producing some good catches, green pumpkin and benefits as the Gold Card on ALL fresh water crayfish patterns are but the best choices. Large profile baits such as this (Excluding Florida) give bass just what they are looking for this time of year and may just put a true lunker in your livewell. Jerk baits$will continue to get better per suspended year as the water continues to cool and if you need to target Same benefits as the Gold Card fish or fish that seem to be less active. Shallow running crankbaits but on ALL fresh water will work well if you pick one that will bounce through cover and (Excluding Florida) structure without getting snagged the resulting reaction strikes can be amazing. Catfish especially Blues are chewing and the big ones aren’t shy, they are out to get a belly full all you have to do is set the table. Big baits in the form of gizzard shad white perch and cut bait are they way to go with these fish, pick a likely spot along a channel edge or at a creek intersecting the channel and drift to cover the area well, down lines with 3 ounce egg sinkers will allow you to keep the bait at the preferred depth while moving with the aid of a trolling motor. Always choose a hook size to match the bait as well as the fish size you are targeting. Quality rod holders and accessories such as Driftmaster will make life much more enjoyable if the drifting or trolling technique is used, if we can help with setting up your boat just let us know.
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What’s in a Price Tag?
How to choose a new fly rod
T
he constant hum of Christmas music has been playing in the background since before Halloween even ended. The yellow & orange of Fall have been replaced with red & green. The holidays are here and it’s time to buy stuff! Whether you’re looking to introduce a new angler to the sport, upgrade your personal collection or make up for the tie you gifted last year, if you’re in the market for a new fly rod, there is quite a bit to consider. Aside from rod weight and length, the most important variable in determining which fly rod ends up under the tree is your budget. Fly rods come in a wide range of prices and striking the right balance of quality v. cost can be overwhelming. Excluding the junky Walmart combo kits and specialty handmade bamboo treasures, there are four basic performance & price levels for fly rods: Entry, Intermediate, Entry Performance and Peak Performance. Figuring out which level you fall in to, will help you narrow down your choices. Entry point rods range from about $100 - $150. Usually, you can buy these as combo packages that include the reel & line as well. These rods don’t have a sophisticated action or the aesthetics of some of their higher priced cousins. They’re a little heavier and clunky, but will generally get the job done for most simple applications. They’re great for youths, as a leave-it-in-the-truck rod or for folks who aren’t yet sure they want to invest in the sport. Look for a quality brand when buying entry rods. Top brands want new customers to be satisfied with their entry products, so that they stay within the brand to upgrade. Two entry rods that I like are the Orvis Encounter and the Redington Path. Intermediate rods range from $150 - $300. These are the workhorse rods that fit the all-around needs for many anglers. Rod action is consistent and approachable, if not entirely crisp. This is a rod for someone who wants to cover a range of fishing scenarios with a quality product, without breaking the bank. Most guide rods will fall into this class. They will do pretty much everything ok, but aren’t designed for more advanced techniques. The Redington Classic Trout and Orvis Clearwater are great intermediate choices. Entry Performance rods range from about $300 - $600. These rods are for anglers who want a specific action and style. They combine quality components with superior blank materials and the experienced angler will immediately be able to tell a difference on the water. Casting accuracy & distance, line mending and fish fighting backbone are all improved with this class of rod. Cast a few before purchase to figure out which one is right for you, but any serious angler who can afford it, should consider this class of rod. The Orvis Recon, Sage Foundation, Hardy Demon and Redington Hydrogen are all fantastic options. The Peak Performance class range from about $600 – $1000. These rods represent the pinnacle of technology, aesthetics and brand equity. They have the most efficient energy transfer and will result in the highest level of casting accuracy and distance. They will allow for superb fly presentation and will make your fishing buddies jealous. Choosing a rod in this class will require some research and test casting to find the one that best fits your style. All of these girls are pretty, but you want to find the one with a personality to match. Check out the Sage X, Orvis Helios 3 and the Hardy Zephrus. While it’s not necessary to take out a second mortgage to afford your new rod, I do recommend investing in a quality product. Choose a trusted brand, with a competitive warranty, from a retailer that values customer service. When you consider the time, the gas, the planning and all of the other energy you put into actually getting on the water, you want to make sure you have gear that performs whenyou get there. Find a rod that you like and that you can be proud of. Feel great about your purchase and look forward to the memories you’ll build with it.
Ryan Wilson is the Owner and Operator of Madison River Fly Fishing Outfitters in Cornelius, NC. If you’d like help finding the right gear for you, please contact him at madisonriverflyfishing@gmail.com or call at (704) 896-3676. Check us out on Facebook: Madison River Fly Fishing Outfitters or on the Web: www.carolinaflyfishing.com
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DECEMBER 2017
CHARLOTTE/PIEDMONT 15
Fuzzy, the Buck that was a Long Time Coming T
he story of Fuzzy starts in August of 2015. While scouting with my hunting partner, Jim Leben, for some good persimmon trees to hunt, we jumped an amazing 8-point buck. It stood there and stared us down for about 10 seconds before disappearing. We both estimated it was a 140-inch 8-point. It was our first encounter with Fuzzy, a buck that would haunt our dreams for two years. Almost immediately we started putting plans together. We hung some stands, and the cameras went out. Jim and I are both in the group Combat in the Wild. There was a lot of talk about this deer. The cameras had been out for several weeks, and we didn’t have one picture of the big 8-pointer. The guys were questioning us big time. At the time, we didn’t know much about Fuzzy’s condition. We were thinking he had shed his velvet and disappeared like most bucks do. The beginning of muzzleloader season came in, and things were wide open. I took a good 8-pointer on video the first day. A few days later, Jim killed an old brute of a mainframe 7-pointer. We were all pumped up about our deer, but the big 8-pointer was still on our minds. Well, gun season opened, and we hunted hard. It didn’t take long before luck slapped me in the face again. I was saving the second buck slot on my harvest card for a bruiser. I hadn’t seen a thing all evening when two does came running into the field about 20 minutes before dark. They stopped and turned back as a beautiful 132-inch, 14-point buck stepped into the field. I put the crosshairs on the deer and took the shot. That ended my 2012 season, and it was an awesome deer that I was glad to end the season with. Jim was now thinking the big 8-pointer was all his. Rifle season was a week old, and I was out of the picture. However, by late season, no one had even seen Fuzzy. We couldn’t understand because the rut was
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on and there was very little hunting pressure. Jim put a couple of cameras out in some highly used areas. The cameras stayed out for weeks into late December. As we are going through the trail-cam pictures one evening, the huge 8-pointer, still in velvet, popped up on the screen. All of the pictures of the velvet buck were at night except one. This told us Fuzzy was a very nocturnal creature. The fact that he was still in velvet led us to believe the buck probably had testical issues. It was the moment he became known as Fuzzy. With the 2015 season pretty much over, we were already scheming to harvest Fuzzy the next year. The trail-camera pictures continued through the spring and then Fuzzy was gone! June through September captured no pictures of the buck. Was he dead? Did he just leave? Where was Fuzzy? On an October day the next year, I got a text from Jim. There was a photo of Fuzzy with the caption reading, “Fuzzy Lives!” We were both jacked. Part of our plan was two new food plots. These food plots were looking really good. We started getting nighttime pictures of Fuzzy around them. One plot was on the edge of a big creek and white oak ridge near a thick area we believed was Fuzzy’s bedroom. On Nov. 12, an arctic blast came in. The next day the temperature only hit the mid 40s and put Fuzzy on my mind. I rushed home from work was in the stand at 4 p.m. Within 45 minutes, I had seven does enter the food plot. Watching the does through my video camera, I saw them all lift their heads and look to the back of the field. A big, mature doe and a yearling entered the field and suddenly did a 30-yard sprint. My heart started pounding. I knew something was about to happen. Within 10 seconds, a monster velvet buck walked into the field. It was Fuzzy! It all happened so quick, but I made sure he was in the frame of the camera when I took my shot. I hit him good, but he was still on his feet and running so, being a nervous wreck, I slung another bullet his way. After looking at the footage and texting all the Combat in the Wild members, we got a search party together. Fuzzy had only gone a short distance and the celebration was on. This one sure will be hard to top because the deer meant so much to us. Knowing an animal like this lives on your property and not laying actual eyes on him for two years shows how elusive they are. Fuzzy scored 149 and 7/8 inches, and we judged him at 6 years old. I pulled the trigger, but Jim Leben and I share this deer. It will be a memory that is never forgotten. God is Great! Combat In The Wild is a Georgia based online hunting show featuring local boys doing some fantastic hunting. Check them out at HYPERLINK “http://www. combatinthewild.com” www.combatinthewild.com, follow their adventures on Facebook and search their channel out on YouTube.
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30-Pound Sacks Of Smallmouths
Photo by Laurie-Anne Ferris
A
30-pound five-fish tournament limit is a big deal in bass fishing. It’s usually enough to win the day on even the lunker largemouth lakes of the southern United States. When it’s a 30-pound sack of smallmouth bass, it’s an even bigger deal. It was a record-breaking deal at the Jack Link’s Lake Simcoe Open in Ontario, Canada on Oct. 28. Niagra Falls anglers Jason Clay and Matt Belzil weighed in a 31.80-pound limit of smallmouths to win the 47-boat tournament, and they also set a new Canadian record, according to B.A.S.S. Each fish in their limit weighed more than 6 pounds. Lake Simcoe is one of Ontario’s largest lakes at 279 square miles. It is also a hot-bed for big smallmouth bass. The previous record of 31.55 pounds was caught during the 2010 Simcoe Open. Like many lakes that boast of giant smallies, gobies are part of a menu that allows for spectacular growth of predatory species at Simcoe. According to the B.A.S.S. report, Clay and Belzil spent practice and tournament days watching their electronics and dropping underwater cameras to locate pods of big bass. Fish were holding on boulders, flats, points and transition areas in 20 to 45 feet of water. Catching them was a matter of rotating through bladebaits, crankbaits, tubes and dropshots. On a lake where half the field has been known to zero, this year’s Simcoe Open produced three sacks heavier than 30 pounds, including Clay and Belzil’s record breaker. The duo took home a $7,800 cash prize, which will be followed by a $20,000 bonus once the catch is officially verified.
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11/15/17 2:45 PM
By Nick Carter
(An abbreviated excerpt from “Flyfisher’s Guide to North Carolina & Georgia”)
I
FISH & FISHING
f it weren’t for the East Fork of the French Broad, it’d be easy to say public access to trout water on private property was a thing of the past. This medium to large flow runs roadside and is hemmed in by private holdings, yet it is one of North Carolina’s most popular delayed harvest streams. It draws anglers from North Carolina and from across the nearby borders with South Carolina and Georgia because it is heavily stocked and offers easy access to easy wading. Somehow, someone convinced property owners along East Fork Road southeast of Rosman, N.C. to allow anglers to fish the creek. There are small signs that read “Public Access For Fishing Only” and remind anglers to respect the access landowners have generously provided. Those are signs a lot of us would like to see a lot more of, but slobs tend to ruin such things. The East Fork French Broad is a shining example of
B
ait fishing tends to breed a passive attitude, because most anglers believe they only have to put a bait in the water and wait for results. The serious bait fisherman is aggressive. Catching fish demands work whether you choose to present an artificial lure or a natural bait. Successful anglers vary their technique constantly, rarely remaining glued to a single method. To catch fish on bait, the key lies in getting your offering where your quarry can sense it. Fish feed either by probing for food or waiting in one spot where the food will come to them. The more you know about the species you seek and the way it feeds, the easier it is to choose the right bait and present it effectively. Start with the most common bait your target species feeds on at that time of year, and load up with a couple additional types just in case.
MARK SOSIN You want the freshest bait available, and it is important to change it frequently so it gives off a strong smell and stays lively. Once you select the bait, presentation becomes key. With live bait, you want it to swim and thrash. Hook it either in the lips or in front of the dorsal fin. Be sure to use a small enough hook so the bait can move about easily. If you want a live bait to swim toward the bottom, hook it behind the dorsal fin. The basic rule of bottom fishing is to use the lightest sinker that will take your bait to the bottom. Lighter sinkers allow the bait a more natural action. There’s an important difference between waiting for something to happen and making it happen. The successful bait fisherman works continuously to make something happen.
what can be achieved with strict management and landowner cooperation. This creek, where it runs through a rural setting of valley farms and fields, is typical of a lower elevation trout stream, with long slow runs, big bend pools and extended stretches of shallow riffles. There are also three significant sets of cascading falls with large holes at their bases. Easy access and easy wading in pretty water kept brimming trout does not go unnoticed. On weekdays or in nasty weather, it might be possible to have stretches of the creek to yourself, but count on sharing water during the October into June delayed harvest season. The standard colorful and flashy DH flies would suffice to fish this creek with a 4- or 5-weight. But the trout see a lot of flies. This means they sometimes reward anglers who fish something natural, like caddis, quills and other mayflies that come off in spring. And don’t hesitate to try something completely outlandish. There are some larger fish in the creek, and big Western flies sometimes get noticed by trout that aren’t quite sure what they’re supposed to be eating. There are about 5 miles of water managed as delayed harvest from Glady Fork down to the confluence that forms the French Broad proper. Not all of this is accessible to the public. East Fork Road runs east off of U.S. 178 south of Rosman. East Fork Road crosses the Middle Fork of the French Broad and then the East Fork. Public access begins at this first bridge over the East Fork and continues upstream. There are, however, several posted parcels within this stretch that should be avoided. Just get in the vehicle and find another pullout like the one marked by this GPS waypoint: 35.133958, -82.794207. There is plenty of river that is not posted. For GPS coordinates to access points and detailed maps of all North Carolina’s and Georgia’s best trout water, check out “Flyfishers Guide to North Carolina & Georgia.” It is available at fly shops, on Amazon, and signed copies are available from the author by emailing nsc8957@ gmail.com.
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By Tobin Strickland, CAM Special Correspondent
T
here are several factors that cause cold numb feet during winter fishing. Lack of insulation layers and quality, too many socks causing constriction of blood flow, the wrong size footwear for winter application, and often overlooked, the proper ‘installation’ method of putting those items on in such a way that even the best gear can cause poor circulation. First, tight over-the-calf socks constrict blood flow. “Half-fold” the tops down the lower shin to allow better circulation. Secondly, pick footwear sizes for winter fishing and hunting that will give plenty of room for sock layers (and neoprene wader boot bottoms). Thirdly, use high quality merino wool sock layers with good loft. I’ve recently found Fits Brand socks (fitssock.com) and they contain a higher percentage merino wool than the competition, and they’re manufacturing process creates more loft. Loft equates to insulation. Use one liner sock like the Fits ‘Film’ liner and one thick merino wool sock. Finally, don’t hurriedly cram your feet into the boots. Make sure to bend your toes back and forth after putting on sock layers. Similarly, after the boots are on, walk around and bend the toe sections of the boots to loosen scrunched-up materials and layers inside the boots before lacing up. Following these simple steps will give your feet more blood flow and allow your feet to stay warmer longer. Tobin created TroutSupport.com - Tech Support for speckled trout and redfish anglers.
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hoosing a pair of sunglasses as a gift for someone else can be a tricky endeavor. On the one hand you have your opinion of what you think they will like and then there’s the issue of the fit and their face shape that can make all the difference in the world in their overall happiness with the pair that you’ve selected. Obviously, the best way to ensure your selection is exactly what they’re looking for is to have them help you. Go to your favorite sunglass seller, and let your friend try numerous pairs on. Then, once you know their favorite, the task is easy and foolproof. But if you’re not able to put that together prior to a purchase, the next best alternative is to make sure the company you’re buying the sunglasses from has an honest, no-loophole return policy. Yes, save your receipt. I also recommend including a small note with the sunglasses saying: I hope these fit, and are what you wanted. The store name here said you can exchange them if you like. At Fowler’s, we make sure our customers have an easy and helpful exchange process. The right pair of sunglasses can be a gift that is appreciated for many, many years, and we make giving the perfect gift a little bit easier. For more information contact David Maney at 888-3409021 or www.FowlersSunglasses.com
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© 2017 Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries
THIS SEEMS TO BE THE PLACE WHERE ALL THE FISH HANG OUT. I THINK I’LL DROP IN.
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