Report In The Rain

[Ämp]

Started at cape fair around 5:30 am. drove 5 miles south to the island / stump field and found whites and large mouth schooled and boiling together in the rain. absolutely the best day of fishing i have ever spent on the rock, they were taking a spook at light speed or a spoon ripped then fluttered.. try a lure you can cast extremely far they tend to move alot. As soon as the gar show up the fun is over take up and look for new boils. light gravel banks and long flats held LM all day , spook, spoon, and swim baits all took quality fish . They seem to move in and out of the flats so if nothing hits at 1-5ft on your topwater move out and toss a spoon and let it drop to around 15 ft , small rips and flutters , swim baits around the edges of these flats that held fish done very well . Drag it over the last of the level bottom to the edge of the drop off or ditch and just jig slowly bouncing bottom seldomly until your fish is on. counting whites and all,my friend and I took over 100 fish yesterday the only thing we had to really brag on besides sheer amount of fish was one LM that at best guess between us was close to 10 lbs taken just off the corner of a personal dock with a spook. LOOK for them white bass boils and you will find the LM , they are just as big of gluttons as the whites all in all around 65 whites and close to 50 LM , around 30% were keepers.

[Ämp]

btw not a K one all day whats up with that?

[Fishrman]

Did I read that correctly, a 10 lb. on a spook?

[Bill Babler]

Wow!!! did you get a pic of the "Big Girl?" I am pretty sure since 1999, there has only been 2 documented at 10 pounds. R. LaPoint may have also had one, but I don't know if he got it weighed on an official scale, only heard he or a client had a big one. Pete Wenners has had two clients catch 10's in that period, both out of Big Cedar, and both weighed on official scales. Both Biggins, came out of Long Creek.

In 1997, Bob Tindle had an 11.5 on a spoon during a guide trip, while fishing Gore Hollow.

True official weighed 10 pounders are as rare as hen's teeth on the Rock, even before the fish kill. You guys really did well. Expecially if you caught her on a spook, this time of the year, when she would not have all the egg weight. The biggins Pete caught were March fish on a stickbait.

Super day, thanks for the report.

[Fishrman]

I remember hearing and seeing Greg Dishman catch one last spring or the spring before that weighed over ten or right at it. Said he caught it on a fb jig.

[vacation]

In the last five years, I know of 4 fish caught over 9lbs. 3 of the 4 were caught in march. 10 is huge. I have been catching tons of whites lately, but no bass mixed in with them. My bass are still shallow, using mainly twister tails or football jig.

Lets see the pic of the big girl!!!!

[Bill Babler]

Dish caught that one 3 yrs. ago, and it was a guess, on the weight. Nothing official. Biggest one I have seen since the fish kill, was Beck had one year before last that was over 9, we posted the pic at the time. I know Pete weighed his at the certified scales at Big Ceder. If you ain't got that, you pretty much have a guess.

In 1999, Buster also had a client catch one at 10.9 certified on Big Cedar's scale. Other than the Giant that Bob Tindle had, that is about the high water mark for the past decade or so.

Most of these 9's and 10's if not caught in the Winter or very early Spring, are usually 7's and 8's. They are extremely long and Huge headed, they look big and are fantastic fish, but just have a hard time carrying that much weight without a full belly of eggs. Don't get me wrong, I would love to catch one anytime that I could say might go 10 Wooeeee!!!!

[Ämp]

... touching a sore subject.. the rain caused me to leave all my valuables in the truck .. inc phone, camera, wallet..so no pic

no proof except the friend who was with me who now swears he didnt see me catch a thing all day just to get a rise out of me.

I might have kept it long enough to get back to the truck if I had a live well in my boat but

on a lighter note that beauty is still in there waiting for my spook thats one spot i just cant give away.

her names bouncing betsy... slapped that spook 2 ft out of the water before grabing at it again.cant wait to go back

[techo]

I caught a nice fish up by Cape Fair couple of years back and had to drive around until I found someone to photograph me with it! Makes me laugh now. I think Spence had to do the same thing once. I guess we need more friends!

[Sam]

Congratulations on catching "Bouncing Betty" - that's a fine fish.

I don't fish for bass too often, but my personal "big bass" on Tablerock was a smallmouth that measured exactly 26". I had no camera and no scales, and she went right back into the water unharmed.

I caught her in the big cove on the northeast corner between the dam and Indian Point - the one that big power line crosses. It was in January, and we were drifting smoke-color 3" grubs on a jighead on the bottom in 50' of water. As Bill says, the fish was skinny at that time of year - I figure she weighed close to 7 lbs., but that would have been more a few months later when she was full of eggs.

Anyway, in 19 years of fooling around down there that's the closest to 10 lbs. I've ever come - so you did real good!