Nobody fishing here?

[Kent]

Yeah, I know it's a trout board. But even so... The b@ss are hot down here in west GA - thinking it's spring, I guess. Bream, too.

Just read a post to one of the "inferior" boards re West Point Lake - apparently b@ss are getting shallow there, too. This guy had caught `em in about 8' on cover. We're fishing mainly small ponds and also finding fish shallow, some right on the bank and some suspended 8-15' off the bank. And Sunday morn, found a full-grown sow with swollen belly in shallow stump-filled cove. It's crazy to me - water temps are still low 50's. But there it is - a coupla weeks ago the shallow fish were small, now they're getting bigger. And the bream - were winter-coated in duller colors, showing lotsa bright bellies and throats now.

Also hear hybrid are getting very active & are on the move. We're finding hybrid & stripers on the Hooch below West Point, and it shouldn't be long before the West Point fish move up river toward Franklin. Anybody fishing up that way?

Y'all heat up this warmwater talk! We all know b****are really a much "gamer" fish than trout!

Kent
Flyfishing West Georgia
http"//kje.home.mindspring.com

[Hooker]

Kent,
It's not suppose to happen like this. Everything is getting hot at the same time!

Here fishy fishy.

Hooker

[The Ole Man]

Kent /Hooker
Had 3 butterflies in the backyard this afternoon. Can spring be far away? Friend in Cedar Bluff tells me he stands on a dock at the edge of river channel and catches 3to4 # white b****one after another. The run is on!
Ole Man

[NightOwl]

" Here fishy...fishy...fishy is a registered trademark of my wife, Aber Jones and is not to be used without the express, written consent of Amber Jones and this station...... http://www.georgia-outdoors.com/ubbngto/smile.gif

[Loren]

Kent,

Can I use a float tube on West Point? Where would you recommend?

Loren

[NightOwl]

Uh.....that's Amber( not Aber) for anyone thinking I was married to someone from the Old Testament! ( hehehe)

[Kent]

Loren -
`Never tubed on West Point, tho it certainly could be done. My inclination, tho, would be to find a small pond somewhere. At bigger lakes, "bassmasters" will probably blow you away. There may be someone here who can tell you about wade/tube possibilities on upper West Point/Hooch around Franklin area - I'm not very familiar with that part of river. Anybody?
Hooker -
You said it, man! But who's complaining, huh? BTW, we fished shoals below the wall late Sunday pm and the hybrid were stacked (early am generation only). And, hey, congrats on the new book - know it's a good one. Of course, I want a graphed copy, too.

Ole Man - Hmmm, where exactly is Cedar Bluff? 4 lb white b****is probably near record size! I figured they were moving, but like the Hooker says, too much is happening right now. "...so many fish, so little time...". `Gotta hunt those whites soon tho - love the way they nail a clouser! There's a little creek here, feeds the lake, and they run way back up in there........

**
Can't believe nobody took the bait - "b@ss are really a much "gamer" fish than trout!" Guess those trout guys don't even look at this section!

[The Ole Man]

Kent
Cedar Bluff, Al. Lake Weiss. Guess nobody took the bait because b****are much harder to eat than trout. You have to scale a bass.he he Sorry I missed you at the show. Went looking for you but you had already left.

[Kent]

Ole Man -

Hey, sorry about missing ya at Expo - we decided we'd rather fish than talk about it & headed south. Spent 2 hrs in traffic jam just south of Gwinnett - finally hit the river about 4:30 & caught enuf hybrid to make us forget Atlanta traffic.

Re bass, we grow em big enough down here, all ya do is slice a big slab outa the side - throw the rest to the turtles - and if you hafta spit a scale now & then, so what! `Course it takes a real adventurous sort to eat Hooch b****round here, thanks to all you folks up in Atlanta!

Let's go fish sometime.

Kent

[old bw]

Kent,
Nearly got caught in that traffic mess myself after leaving the Primer, but jumped off 85 to go to the Shallow Water Expo. What a great time at both events! btw - just how many fish does it take to make up for Atlanta traffic? http://www.georgia-outdoors.com/ubbngto/smile.gif

[NightOwl]

I spotted the " trap" Ol Man , but I'm taking a break from controv. subjects ! ( hehe) Hmmmmmm...eat a b****huh? have to try it one day! http://www.georgia-outdoors.com/ubbngto/smile.gif

[The Ole Man]

NO
They're not nearly as good as a Crappie or a Bream. Want to taste something gamey & wild,try some Striper-man!

[jeffg]

Stiper def taste better than crappie which taste better than b****which taste better than trout.(except when it is a freshly killed/cooked trout within 10 minutes of killing the trout, nothing beats that).

[Bill Findlay]

Next time you get a Striper, try this. . .actually you may already do it. Filet the fish, and immediately remove the red line in the center. This will get rid of the "gamey" taste in my opinion. It does, however, still have a strong fish taste to it, but then again, it's not a chicken is it?

[jeffg]

Maybe I am imagining it...but striper caught in the salt taste way better than the ones caught in freshwater. Used to catch them in the Chesapeake and man did they taste sooooo good. And the freshwater ones caught never matched their taste.

Bill, sprinkle a bit of Old Bay on them before you cook em. Or add Old Bay to the coating you dip em in before cooking. GOOD STUFF!!!

[Kent]

Just kidding, y'all - jesting w/ the Ole Man was all. I don't eat kill or eat b@ss. Seldom any other freshwater fish I catch - tho' fresh grilled trout or fried crappie & bream will tempt me over the line occassionally.

Ol bw -
To make me forget about the Atlanta traffic didn't really take a fish - just getting on the river did that. And after the 1st hybrid ate my clouser, I couldn't remember it at all! Thank goodness for fish!

[The Ole Man]

Me and Greg Smith got caught in that wreck traffic when we left the Primer. Stuck on 85 for an hour and couldn't get off. Greg got me all primed about Mountain Town Creek. Said he went with TU on a state electro-shock survey and they shocked up a 24 " Brown among other good fish. Old bw,was good to meet you-a fellow Deltoid. Hope you are getting in some casting practice and have stopped hitting yourself in the head. Gonna be meeting time on the river before long.

[Bill Findlay]

Now I know how to cook 'em. How do you recommend catching them. Is the River or Lanier better. I have only had the pleasure of tasting what others have caught.
I don't need any secrets, just a little direction.

[The Ole Man]

Bill :
If you're talking trout,here's what we learned at the Primer. The Hooch is estimated to have 3500 trout per mile. Thats about one for every two ft of river length. The Buford hatchery turns out 600,000 pounds of trout per year. Half of these go in the Hooch. Birds and animals saunter up to the hatchery and take 200,000 fish for themselves every year. Not one one of these "fishermen" shows the least tinge of guilt over catching and eating 200,000 of Bill Couch's trout. Are you listening Kent? So, is the river good? How could it not be? Just pick a place and wet a hook. Don't know how many hundreds of thousands of tons of fish there are in Lake Lanier.

[Kent]

Ole Man -
Don't get me wrong - I will keep & eat a fish. Guiltlessly, giving thanks to the fish & the maker of fish. But not from the Hooch down here south of Atlanta - little too much "fertilizer" in the water (we even get "no swimming" warnings from time to time). Another reason I don't keep fish is I usually fish til dark or after & I don't wanna come home & clean `em.

I'm sure not trying to start another C&R debate. I do believe it has it's place, but I don't wanna talk about it here - `nuff already been said.

I do kinda hate to hear that 1 trout/foot figure though, as I have fished the Atlanta Hooch & I didn't catch near all of `em.

Kent

[The Ole Man]

Ditto Kent. I've seen both sides of the story seeing as how I was about 40 years old before I ever heard the term. So, I can take it or leave it. Got to talk to Carter Nelson at the show. Told him you put the RLD pic on the board. He made one for me. Was real pleased that you showed it off for him. I'm going to try it out in a farm pond pretty soon. He gave me and superchub some tips on spinning hair too. We were duly impressed. Don't catch em all. Hope you got my e-mail-Bubba. http://www.georgia-outdoors.com/ubbngto/smile.gif

[Hooker]

Kent,
I have to agree with you about a b****being a "gamer" fish than a trout. As far as southern freshwater fightin fish go though, it is hard for anything with fins to match a hybrid. Even those big ol' stripers can't stretch a line like a hybrid.
It's just hard for me to stay away from trout though. Those big ol rainbow sows are starting to stack up in the spawning shoals, and I can't sleep at night for thinking bout them.
This weekend I'm gonna try an catch some of both.
Keep us posted on how you do.

Hooker

[jeffg]

My $0.02 ... but being from Maryland the sportiest fish is ye ole smallmouth bass. Tought fish, tough fighters, good leapers and just an all around fun fish to catch. Especially on the Potomac river on poppers, and such.. i miss those fish actually.

[Kent]

Ole Man -
Glad you ran into Carter. He is good at the vise (he's even better with a rod) - if you watch you'll see his name on lots of magazine articles. That RLD will take mountain trout, too. (Email?)

Hooker -
`Know what ya mean. I'm sleep-deprived, too - need 36 hr days & independent means! The offer on that Callaway trip still good - know stillwater's not normally your thing, but the small pond/float tube stuff is laid-back fun (& lotsa fish). Those trout are getting fat here, too. Plus you gotta deliver a book to me. So lemme know.

Jeff - Mmmm, smallmouth - wish they were closer, too!

[NightOwl]

The hardest fighting, best running, meanest fish around has got to be the Savannah River /Noontoola - Hybrid Creek Chub. These things strip off 200 yds. of 1/2 lb. test in a single run - leap over the highest riffle with nary a ripple, dance on the surface for over.06 of a second - ..........and you all thought I didn't have my moments ! ha!