Airfield, 7/18/19

Debbie and I headed out to the Airfield today, between afternoon thunderstorms. We found the Airfield pond in sad shape...the owner needed to irrigate out of it this year due to a long dry spell that was hard on his crops. The pond is pulled down quite a bit, lots of the pond is under 3' right now. As a result, the hydrilla BLEW UP and has choked over 50% of the pond since we were last there on 7/6/19...only 12 days ago. I suspect the dissolved oxygen is low, because most everyone was slow, and not interested in biting at all. We had to paddle most of the pond, as the trolling motor would constantly get hung up in HUGE piles of hydrilla. 

Despite all that, we managed to pull off a few catches. Debbie was using a 5" soft plastic worm, I was finesse fishing with a small 3" stick bait. Even had one bluegill to hit my 3" worm! We got several on the hook that would get all wrapped up in the Hydrilla and get off.

Hidden Pond, 7/16/19

Debbie and I headed back to the Hidden Pond this evening, to see if the bite was as good in bright sunlight, as it was when we went on an overcast evening...it wasn't. It was hot as blazes (about 96), almost no breeze, and direct sunshine. The bite was pitiful, though we managed a few. 

I was experimenting with bait sizes again... Debbie was getting a little action on a 5" soft plastic worm. I was throwing a fat 6" worm, but nothing. Switched to something that was about 3.5" long (the back end of some of Debbie's 6" worms that were worn out), and wham...immediately started getting hits. It's seems there's something to "finesse fishing". I've been reading about it, and when the LMB bite is tough, downsizing the bait seems to pick up some who aren't really interested in chasing / hitting a bait. I've done this a few times recently, and it has worked every time. Bluegill were caught on beetle spins. Here's a few pics of the evening's catches...

Secret Pond, 7/14/19

It was a nice Sunday evening with a little cloud cover, so we decided to head to the Secret Pond. We hauled the jon boat over and launched it, and fished until dark. The bite was pretty good, and Debbie caught a 2lb 9oz LMB, among other things. It was HOT.... whew, we thank God for giving us a little cloud cover and some nice evening shade to keep the direct sun off of us most of the evening. 

Debbie was using 5" Yum Dinger worms rigged weightless / weedless, and was also throwing a beetle spin on her micro setup. 

I was using 6" worms, but having little luck...so I want the other way and started finesse fishing with some 1/2 worms that were about 3" long (pieces of some of Debbie's Yum Dingers that had worn out). I immediately started picking up bass. I was throwing a beetle spin with a smokey shad grub on my micro rig, for bluegill. 

The local beaver swam around us a little, and went about his way. Here's a few pics of what we caught... 

 

Hidden Pond, 7/12/19

We headed out to a private pond we have access to, we call the 'Hidden Pond". We had never put the boat in there, and decided to give it a try. It paid off, and we caught the most bass in there in one visit, that we have in the last 3 years of fishing that spot. We landed 16 LMB, and snagged / lost several others. We were mostly fishing soft plastic worms, working the bank. That was a fun run, and we plan to do that again, soon! It was HOT, but the Lord sent us some beautiful cloud cover and a light breeze, and made the evening wonderful! Here's a few pics...

 

Crusin' & Fishin' on Kerr Lake

We took the bass boat up to Kerr Lake, near Henderson NC, for a couple of days. We had a good time, caught a few bass, and got to ride a bit. All catches were on sub-surface using 5" and 6" Senko-style worms. They weren't interested in top water, dive baits, spinner baits, etc. Here's a few pics and a little video...

 Taking the dogs for a ride on the lake...

 

This one was 3lb1oz, fun catch!