Pomme de Terre 5/21

[coyotewhacker]

Launched out of Bolivar Landing about 7:30 and headed up the river. Started on the right hand bank roughly halfway between the Landing and the 1st bend. Water temp is now in the upper mid-70's and there is quite a bit of trash up to foot thick tree trunks floating in the channel. If you go there be careful. No hits on spinner bait, but did get some
pickups with a plastic worm. As the wind picked up, it got harder to keep going into it, so I cranked up and went across to the end of the bluff where it flattens out. I fished all the way back to the point at the Landing without a strike. By then it was getting late in the morning so I cranked up and ran down to the 83 Marina for a Snickers bar.
On the way back I decided to try the first cove on the right which has a lot of standing timber in it. It's well known as a good crappie hole, but also has the occasional bass. I took the right side of the "Y" to get out of the steadily increasing wind and started working the south bank.
For the first hundred yards, nothing. Then I remembered that Berkley had sent me a sample pack of Gulp baits, so I pulled them out and put on this ugly looking purplish thing that looked like a cross between and 4" baby snake and a minnow. For the next 45 minutes, I could not count the number of strikes I had on that ugly thing. I boated eight bass, the largest went about 2 lbs +, and had three rock bass (down south we called them goggle eye) jump on it. These were not light taps....all the fish hit it fast and hard. When the purple minnow thing was totally destroyed and I couldn't find a way to keep it on the hook any more, I got out the sample earthworm from the package. It was a loud pink-tan color....even uglier than than the minnow. The strikes kept coming..Now I don't know what is in that Gulp bait, but their advertising claims it outfishes live bait. Based on what happened to me yesterday, I can believe it. A simple change in plastics made the day go from a total bust into a pretty successful outing. Now I gotta do something about this little sunburn,...........

[fishnxs]

Bill you aint moonlighting for Berkely are you?
We were suppose to hit Stockton this week and ended up sitting at home. Next time you're heading up that way give me a holler and I'll meet you up there.

[Wolfman]

I got one of them sample packs, have to give it a try. Gary, what ya doing next week?...lol

[coyotewhacker]

Guess maybe I should ask them for a big sponsorship package, with a brand new boat, unlimiited gas, and my own tv show. However, since that ain't gonna happen, I will tell you that I have been a longtime believer in Berkley Power Baits. Often they will produce for me when nothing else will. It may be a confidence thing, but whatever it is, it works. These new deals they have out aren't cheap...something like $4.68 a pack at Wal Mart, but if they will produce like they did yesterday, it's worth the extra cost. In a few months, somebody else will figure out how to formulate a generic version and the price will begin to come down.
Gary...it was a short notice trip, so I didn't bother to let you know. I picked up a couple of packs of Gulp baits last night at Wal Mart, so a testing session will be needed to verify the raw empirical data from yesterday....will let you know which ramp the lab will launch from next time. You know who is collecting mudbugs tomorrow for a trip to TR tomorrow night. We're going to try for an all nighter somewhere out there for whatever swims under the boat. Maybe I better load up some extra clips.....
BTW, the fish I found were literally just a foot or two off the bank, and I suspect they were back in the brush waiting to ambush whatever swam by. With the high color level in the water, I didn't have to worry about spooking them by being too close in the boat. In fact, I grounded the trolling motor at the very back of the cove up in the creek mouth and still caught a bass or two further back in less than a foot of water. Everything came on the Gulp "sinking minnow" and their "natural earthworm"...whatever they are made of is definitely different from any soft plastic I have used before. When I was taking stuff out of the boat yesterday afternoon, I found the purplish brown (about the same color as a plug of chewing tobacco) finesse worm that I started with. It started out looking like a skinny slug, but out of the water it had shriveled up and was wrinkled like a ....I may go get it and put it in some water to see if it will re-hydrate....whatever makes it work sure has my attention. We will get back up there later in the week and give it some more "scientific" comparison testing.
You can throw a regular worm and I will keep throwing the Gulp worm.....this wind needs to lay down some before I get back on Pomme....it's not like Stockton, but it gets downright choppy above 25 mph.

[fishnxs]

Jessie hope to be cutting hay. If not will give you a holler and we'll follow Bill "the Dance" CW around and find his honey holes.

[Wolfman]

I know a few honey holes on pomme...lol Not sure when im going to get to go now. Started to the tunnel today and about the time i got to lebanon my left front caliper locked up, hub got hotter then he!!! After working on it for over an hour in a gas station parking lot i got it to working again enough to get home.
Got to conway and pulled over because i smelled something getting hot again, figured it was the wheeel again. Had me a small engine fire. Top it all off i got me a he!! of a sunburn on my back and shoulders. Ive had better days.

[coyotewhacker]

I don't have any honey holes up on Pomme, but you boys are more than welcome to either follow me down some banks that have been good, or I will drop in behind and follow you down the same bank. I'm still learning (or at least trying to learn) why the bass react to different conditions as they do up here. What I found the other day was what I considered to be classic bass fishing....they were in shallow water holding on brush or other structure. A week before that, you couldn't buy a bite in the same place with the same presentation. Where I moved from, the patterns didn't change that much year round, and old habits die hard.
As for Wolfie's predicament, if'n we were down in Louisiana, I would have to say that a jealous husband out there somewhere has paid a voodoo woman to put a hex on him.
An old swamp woman named Marie Leveaux trained a lot of gals in the black arts way back, and one of them might be responsible for his situation......

[Wolfman]

Way my lucks been running the last few months ive wondered if ive pi$$ed some VooDoo man off by 'chatting' with his wife or daughter. That or just outfished him lately. Wonder if gary or BB ever studied VooDoo?...lol