Great report! They are nice fish and sooner or later the real big girls will start to play. I remember in the old days.......................70's and 80's, even I could catch a 6 to 9 lber at night. We fished near the Dam and only fished from 10 P.M. till around 9 A.M. Most fished came on pig/jig or a black spinnerbait.
It's nice to know "one of the best" on this pond struggles at times. It makes me feel a little better as I have really struggled on the mid James lately. The month of March has always been a humbling experience for me. I don't know what is going on, but I don't even see many boats fishing this area. I guess that should tell me something. If anyone is catching them on the James, PLEASE give me a couple of pointers Thanks to all who contribute so freely to make this a GREAT forum.
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Great report, Bill! Thanks for the info on Lew's braid and F carbon. I almost bought some a few weeks ago when I was in the store. I've used Power Pro for many years and the stuff seems to last forever. I throw the A-rig on 65 lb power pro and seldom loose a bait. With the price difference, I'll be trying Lew's.
Great article and some good links!!! I don't believe that you will ever find a finer gentleman and fisherman than Stacey. I've had the privilege to fish with him on several occasions and it's always a fantastic experience. I'm so happy he beat cancer and can continue his passion of tournament fishing. Good luck to you Stacey and God bless you.
I also am catching them on a spoon in 25 to 30 feet of water on the James, but mine are in the 1 to 3 lb range and mostly Kentuckys. I have fished the Rock for 43 years and never seen a 5 lb spot.
They are some sick people in our world! Even in the bible belt there are some rotten apples, who just don't get it. Sorry to hear about your low ball offer Dan.
Nice buck!!! Is that a MO. buck? I totally agree with you on your analogy of big deer and big bass. They are both vulnerable during the mating season and if you score any other time, you have perfect conditions and are lucky as well.
Well done guys! I think that is the secret to tournament fishing. Just go out and go fishing and don't put too much pressure on your selves. Many people try WAY too hard and I think it leads to mistakes and fishing too fast.
Great report and nice fish. I think it's strictly a big fish bait. Lots of topwater baits will beat it for numbers, spook, fin, dog,yellow magic, ect. But when the big girls want big bait, it's like the A-rig. The good news, it's not a 30-50 dollar lure!
I'm still rooting for Stacey ....................sitting in 16 place and hopefully will catch 5 good ones today. I know the bite is tough right now and I think he has the ability to SLOW down and getrdone.
It has been totally dead on the James between pt. 11 and 15 for us. My opinion is that we have some sick fish in the river systems. I have a friend down for 2 weeks and I finally had to let him use my slip in Kimberling City, so we could catch a few fish. The bite is much better between pt. 9 and the dam for us. We've been catching them shallow on SB early and dropshot in 25-30 feet of water as the day goes on. There has been some topwater early, but doesn't last long.