Fishing Report 4/10/9

[CaptainJoe]

From yesterday, April 10th.

Area: James River in vicinity of Cape Fair

Water Temps: 51-53 degress

Air Temps: 49-61 degrees

Wind: WNW 15-20 MPH with gusts to 25 MPH

Sky: Cloudy with occassional light mist

Moon: Day After Full Moon

Water: Light Stain

Pattern: Main lake points for bass and around docks with brush halfway back in creeks for crappie.

Soft plastics again were the ticket for bass during yesterday's guide trip. My two teenage clients and I used a Texas-rigged 4" Chompers drop shot worm in watermelon seed with a 1/4 oz. tunsten weight (unpegged); a Chompers 5" Salty Sinker in green pumpkin with a 1/4 oz. Spot Remover Shakey Head; and a Texas-rigged Zoom centepede in green pumpkin with a 1/4 oz. tunsten weight (unpegged). We consistently caught bass on all main lake points and one gravel point in the back of Piney Creek.

The bass bite was slow, slow, slow. They wanted it deadsticked. We threw to the bottom, let the bait sit for approximately a 5 count, then lifted the rod tip real slow to feel if a fish was on. If fish was on, we set the hook, if not, we slowly moved the bait another foot or so and let it sit again. They would pick it up either on the first or second pause. We didn't really feel the bites, just pressure or slight resistance when we lifted the rod tip. The fish were in the 8-12' depth range. The fish were all males that were pushed out to the main lake during the lastest cold fronts and storm. Surprisingly, the water was only lightly stained, which tells me that the ground was very dry and soaked up most of the rain and prevented runoff.

Live minnows under a slip float and a 1/8 oz. chartruese jig head allowed us to target the crappie. Due to the high winds, we hid behind docks with brush piles and we able to catch some crappie. The largest was 14" long. The bite was very light with the float only halfway going down.

[creek wader]

Very good/detailed report.