Summer Hogs

Cloudy and Warm, Water Temperature 82* and Clear.

I have been waiting for the water temperature to hit 80 degrees for the summer bite to turn on and catching 30 Stripers this morning before 8 o'clock ushered the season in for Tony and myself. We decided last night to go out this morning early, catch bait and fish different places where other boats and fisherman would not harass us. Most fisherman just don't realize that boat motors turn fish off [maybe not the punks but the nice fish will not tolerate motors or pressure]. As you can see by the Lowrance pictures we got on them and stayed on them this morning. The top picture shows 3 screens, the left screen is Bottom Lock showing the bottom quarter [10 feet] of the water column. The middle screen is traditional sonar on a 0 to 40 foot scale, the right screen is on side scan looking 80 feet out to either side of the boat. Stripers are the arches on the sonar and dashes on the side scan. The other 2 pictures I took bottom lock off the screen. As you can see by the top picture, there were hundreds of fish around us from 15 to 26 feet deep. Notice we were on concentrated fish but on the lower two pictures we got on larger fish on the outsides of the school. The fish were high enough in the water column to run planner boards and most of the fish in the picture with Tony holding the fish were caught on boards. The problem we had this morning was that we had so much action we could not get many baits out without hooking up. This time of year it is imperative to have at least 4 anglers on board to keep up with the action. I have 2 boats rigged and ready to accommodate  groups of fisherman. Call to set up a trip and get in on some of the best action of the year, summertime schooling Stripers.

Paul Henon and Sons.

Sunny and Hot, Water Temperature 80* and Clear.

I got out very early this morning , caught bait and picked the guys up at 5:30 at High Point Marina. Today we were looking for schools to put downlines on so I started looking with my Lowrance as soon as we left the marina. I saw broke up fish for about 15 minutes but I ran over a large school so we set up on them. We had some action and moved on. We would look for fish, set up on them , catch fish, loose the school and do it over and over again all day. We caught well over 30 fish today and Paul caught 4 Bass on downlines over 40 feet of water. The guys kept a mess of fish for a fish fry this Memorial Day weekend and released all the other fish to fight again. The picture of my Lowrance is one of the schools we worked early this morning. Paul took out his son and two son in laws today for an enjoyable day on the water before the weekend warriors hit the water tomorrow. 

This weekend is a weekend to remember all the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.

Semper Fi

David, Lyle and Scott

Sunny and Cold front conditions, Water temperature 71* and Clear.

Guide Brian Mohr got out on the water early this morning, caught bait, picked his crew up and went fishing. He set out a spread of boards pulling 5 to 40 foot flats this morning. Fishing was slow due to the cold front but they had fairly steady action till the wind got out of control. Brian had to make a move to get out of the wind and caught a couple more fish before calling it a day. Looks like all of these Stripers have spawned.

Mark, Byron, Len, Anna Marie, Bill and David

Cloudy and Warm, Water Temperature 72* and Clear

We went out this morning at 4:30 and caught over 50 beautiful baits before daylight. We went and set out a spread of baits where there were no other boats within sight. We hooked up immediately and David reeled the fish in. We fished about 100 more yards then the next thing we knew there was a pontoon running circles out in the lake, we could not figure out if he was trying to swamp us or just spook every fish in that part of the lake. He eventually ran right over the flat we were trying to fish so all we could do was get our baits in and go elsewhere . We again found a area where there were no boats so we set our spread out and started taking hits again. We were getting numerous hookups but having difficulty getting them in the boat. We eventually got our act together and caught plenty of fish. Mark is pictured holding up his largest fish ever, a solid 15 pounder. 

Ryan, Aric, Zack, Brian, Bob and Billy

Cloudy and Pleasant, Water Temperature 74* and Clear.

We hit the water at 4:45 and went to catch bait. By daylight we had over 50 beautiful pieces so we took off and headed for an area where we could not see any boats. I set a spread of a dozen boards and a bobber out and proceeded to pull flats. We ran into an area where we started seeing fish on the Lowrance and for the next 4 hours we hooked up about once every 10 minutes or so. We fished the area till an Osprey started hitting our baits when fish would rise them to the surface and after it killing 5 different baits we had to get everything in and move. I went and filled the bait tank up again with bait and set up in a different area. I told the guys this spot could be better than the first area we worked. I had only gotten out a few boards when we started hooking up again. For the next 3 hours we duplicated this mornings action. We had quite the day, fishing was excellent and action was great. Once this afternoon a Striper was chasing a big Gizz up on the surface and next thing we knew a Blue Heron flew down and took the bait from the fish! We experienced it all today. The guys only kept a third of what we hooked up today, releasing the others to fight again. By the end of the day everyone was wore out and ready to give it up. Bob is pictured holding up a nice Striper while Billy is thinking "Why didn't I pick up that rod!"

Karl and Jake

Cloudy and Damp, Water Temperature 74* and Clear.

DP took these clients out today and here is what he had to say about the day.

Yesterday I spent the day on the water with my son Anthony, he made a memory of a lifetime for me when he gave me a hug and said "Dad this was the best day ever".  Today I had the privilege of having a father son team on my boat.  It made me think about all the times that I have spent with my dad on the water and dream about all the times to come with my son.  Jake caught the largest fish of his life today, but there were two things that impressed me the most.  First is the way that he handles a fish, he knew exactly what to do from the moment it hooked up to the moment he released the fish to be caught again.  Second is the fact that this kid researches new bodies of water and gives a power point presentation to his dad on why they should or should not fish certain fisheries.  It was a pleasure to have spent the day with these two fine anglers.  Thank you Karl and Jake.

Shawn, Big Al and John

Cloudy and Misty morning turning into Sunny and warm afternoon, Water Temperature 74* and Clear

I met the guys at 5am and off we went to catch bait. It was another difficult morning throwing for bait and after 2 hours we had about 40 beautiful baits in the tank. We drove to an area that I wanted to fish but there was already another boat there so I turned around and set up somewhere else. We put out about 15 lines rigged with big Gizzards and pulled a variety of structures ranging from 6 to 40 feet deep. For some reason the fish this morning were lethargic, they would roll the bait without taking it. We would only hook up on maybe half of our strikes. After running out of bait again we caught more and set up in a different area taking a lot of action till boat traffic turned the fish off. John caught this huge Bass over 20 feet of water on a live bait.  We all had a fun day on the water.

Stewart and Mark

Cloudy, Hot, Water temperature 74* and clear.

I got out early on the water to catch bait but a thunderstorm blew through scattering the bait. I had caught about 30 baits but wanted to start with more so I picked the guys up and threw till we had about 50. It was too late for me to go where I originally wanted to fish so I set out a spread at the mouth of a creek where there were no boat to interfere with my spread. We started taking hits not up in the shallows but over deeper areas on breaklines. We had steady action for about 2 hours before the bite subsided. We went and caught more bait later in the day and set up in a main lake area but fishing had slowed down considerably. The bottom picture is Mark holding a Bass he caught over 25 feet of water on a Gizzard Shad. Stewart in the middle picture is holding a Citation Bass that he caught on a Hollow body swim bait nearby where Mark caught his fish. Today they caught 12 Stripers, kept 9 to eat and released 3. We also caught numerous Catfish today. Today is Marks birthday and my daughter Emily gave him this trip.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARK