Spring - No, it's Winter, it's 31 degrees - Nope, Spring Again. The Uncertainties of Fishing!

Spring is here - and then it is gone again. The difference of one day can never be overestimated when bass fishing - or as I often like to call it, lure fishing. There are anglers who strive to catch nothing but largemouth, and big largemouth. I am not that angler; I love to use lures, and big mouth bass are my theoretical target, but the lures I use are chosen to optimize fish caught. In general, these fish include largemouth, crappie, white bass, black bass, rock bass, bluegill - and believe it or not, catfish and carp.

These last two are fish you don't expect to see striking at lures, and yet here they are! And may I say - sometimes a net is just a mess waiting to happen, especially when there are crankbaits involved!

But, after the crankbait was freed, the fish quickly followed - fisherman John Thompson did an excellent job removing the hooks; catfish are never easy with treble hooks, but a nice pair of long nose pliers helkps tremendously.

This is a ncie sized cat - note the lure John used to catch this channel cat, a small red and brown Rapala in a crawdad pattern. The fish was caught on a sloping shelf off of a shoal at 10 - 12 feet on 4-21-2014 at a slow troll.

This one was caught on the same day a few minutes later with a soft, green and brown Super Fluke swim bait on a weighted hook.

There were schools of cat's swimming around the shallows - only after we came in did I realize that it was schools of males chasing larger females; the ones we caught were not in the chase yet, or had already completed the yearly urge.

Just a few days before, on similar crankbaits and slighter lighter green swim baits the day was much faster - like many days, it happened when I was alone on the water; such days are much more enjoyable with company, but alas, the fates of fishing are not friendly to our schedules - they come and go with no predictability.

Fortunately, a slow day in Spring is usually a few fish over a few hours, as opposed to the winter time, when a slow day is no fish and a lot of cold to boot. On a good day, about five or six days before the catfish, I had about 6 fish in 2 hours, and a good mix at that.

The water on that day ws a bit warmer - around 65 - 67 degrees. This one was caught with a Carolina rig in 8 - 12 ft of water - in fact, all the iswh below were caught at the same depth.

The largemouth above was caught around the semi-submerged bushes against the bank. I have now way of knowing, but I think the fish followed the softbaits about halfway to the boat and hit the bait during a 'slowing' retrieve.

This one was caught on a segmented, suspending crankbait:

As you can see here:

against a field-stone wall. which sloped away from about 1 foot deep to abut 12' deep where the boat was, about 40' away from the wall.

This one was a bit smaller:

Caught around these docks - there was a much bigger fish there I could not entice at ALL!

And, of course, the day would not be complete without some white bass

and a really nice Rock Bass, about . . .

fifteen inches long, and caught next to a dock with the softbait pictured above - this was a very nice fish that I really wanted to deep fry, but I did set him free, and then saw a neat little turtle. Maybe  he was good luck - I have a nice boat, access to good waters, and the time and seasons to enjoy long, lazy days floating, fishing, thinking and talking. And what more could a man ask for?

The answer is not much - not much at all!

At least some of the lures inn this article were purchased at a a pawn shop Gastonia NC  residents, Hunters and fishermen have relied on for years! For fishing gear, rifle scopes and more check our Gaston Music & Pawn!

The Spring Is Here, The Spring Is Here!

Ahhh, the weather is warming, and so is the water! On April the 2nd, the average water temp on lake Norman was around 58 - 59 degrees (as high as 61 in some small coves) and the fish were biting nicely; by the time April 6th had come around, the temp was above 60 degrees, and as high as 63!

Fishing over the winter month's can be especially trying (the fish are just so often not cooperative), but the warm weather stirs their ancient instincts and increases their hunger - and the breaking of Spring is a great time to break out the crankbaits!

There has been good activity around the end of docks in 10 - 15 feet of water, and this monster was caught in a shallow cove in the northern sections of Lake Norman at the Duke Power State Park.

This one hit the Rapala Shad Rap (the three inch, deep diver in blue and green accents with a white underbelly) lightly the first time, and smashed it hard when I sent the lure back for a second run - never think that a missed strike spooked the fish! John Thompson helped land this little monster and took a great picture. You can see the fish is already showing eggs; as always I set her free, and was careful not to lip her. Especially with big fish, handle them gently and support the body with another hand to keep the fish from being injured!

The water in this cove was a nice 61.5F; we also caught a little white bass on a segmented Rapala crank, also in natural colors, so take the time to get onto the water, and don't be discouraged if you see someone fishing your favorite hole - at least three boats had been in this cove before we got there (we saw them leaving on the way out).

Springtime is also the gear time of year, whether it is stocking up on new lures and soft baits, or getting a new rod and reel combo, but if you are like me sometimes you just don't want to pay new prices for essential gear. With a little effort, you can make some great finds and save a LOT of money;l in fact, it often takes less effort than find a nice bass on the end of your line, though sometimes i does take just as much patience.

Craigslist is always a good resource for finding good gear cheap, as well as flea markets, and yard sales are always a great place to stop - but hit the yard sales early if you expect to find the good stuff. Putting some pawnshops into your shopping rotation can also net some great deals on rod and reel combos, as well as some fantastic deals on complete tackle boxes. Pawnshops generally do not like to break gear like that into small pieces, and buying a complete tackle box can net you a lot of lures, sometimes as cheaply as 2 - 3 bucks per lure or less.

Another great resource I have seen this year is the Mystery Tackle Box - for just $14.99/month these folks will send out a great selection of lures and other gear, along with a breakdown of what you received and the retail prices of those items. It is a great way to expose yourself to new products, or things which you normally would not purchase in a store, and the first month is only $4.99 when you use the promo code get499; you can also cancel at any time. I will be writing reviews of the boxes they send me in the coming months and let you know what we think of this deal (if it is as good as their commercials, it will be worth the money and then some!).

The important thing is to get on the water, and to take a friend and family with you. Whether you catch fish or not, getting close to nature is a reward in itself and should never be downplayed - so get out on the water, and let us know how the fishing is and what works for you!

And, for great tackle, guns, Buck knives and lots of other stuff go to Gaston Music & Pawn, one of the pawn shops Gastonia relies on for great deals and service