Combine this bait with the right place and a little patience and you have a recipe for a giant. Katie was working the 4.5 TRJ topped with a ½ tungsten through the branches of a large laydown tree in 12ft of water and was crawling the bait super slowly with painstakingly long pauses. After pausing the bait for just over 2 minutes in one spot, she gives the big TRJ one tiny hop…the hop that happened to be the decision maker for the hog lurking below to engulf the bulky bait crawling around its lair. After a bone jarring hook set, the massive bass immediately wraps itself up in the branches and the true battle begins. Minutes pass as the big fish surges around the same branch completely wrapping itself up….and before we know it, there’s no movement at all. More time passes as Katie keeps pressure on the line with the hopes to feel some sort of movement on the other end. But after a couple  more minutes of absolutely nothing, the adrenaline rush quickly begins to subside as the fear of the worst starts to sets in. At this point, I grab the rod from her, put the tip of the rod down into the water to try to unwrap the line to salvage the bait and tungsten with no luck at all. I then reel down with the rod in the water as far as I could get it and pull back to break the line. With one final hard yank the line breaks the branch free from the tree and to our amazement the giant bass was still on the other end!!! The hog launches 2 feet into the air as I quickly handed the rod back to Katie so she could finish fighting the bass that she had so patiently waited for. Within seconds, the beautiful bass was safely in the boat and an outburst of laughter erupted between the two of us. We all know how good it feels and the excitement that’s involved in catching a personal best fish. But after the grueling ups and downs of this super long drawn out battle, and after thinking all hope was lost, Katie’s says her new personal best felt like a triumph!  And rightfully so!

For all of you that have heard the old saying “Patience is a virtue”…trust me when I say there’s a lot of truth in those words.

Fishing report for Kerr/Buggs Island Lake

February 2012

Crappie: Fish are on two different patterns depending oin what part of the lake you are fishing, from Clarksville downstream the fish can still be caught vertical jigging with bucktails around brush and other structures on ledges and points. On the upper end of the lake in creeks such as Bluestone and Buffalo, fishermen are beginning to haul in some nice catches of fish by tightlining jigs and minnows in 5 to 12 feet of water around dropoffs and shallow flats.

Catfish: Blues have been hitting pretty good on the upper end of the lake anywhere above Clarksville, the best method for catching these fish is by anchoring on shallow flats outside of the river channel on the main lake. Fishing on the bottom using cut shad and cut crappie. You never no what to expect fishing like this the next bite you get might be a 5 pounder or it might be a big girl that goes well over 50 pounds.

Striper: Fish are in most of the major creeks feeding on shad, these fish can be caught livebaiting with shad and Jumbo minnows or by casting lures to them. Fishermen are getting good numbers it has just been hard to come by keepers.

Bass: With water tempatures in the mid 40′s to 50 fishing has been good, most fishermen are using shallow running crankbaits, rat-l-traps, jerkbaits and jigs, fish have been holding on red clay banks and rocky pointsin 1 to 8 feet of water. Reports of good numbers of fish and 5 fish bags from 14 to 19 pounds have been coming in.

Happy Fishing! Stop by and see us while you are in town!

**Fishermen**
Don’t forget…. Your wife called… and you can buy anything you want!

BOBCAT’S LAKE COUNTRY
(434) 374-8381
for current fishing reports.
GOOD LUCK FISHING!!!

On Falcon Lake with Elite Photographer James Overstreet, take a look at what happened..

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]]> http://centralvabasscast.com/2012/02/zafs-2012-falcon-show-james-overstreet/feed/ 0 http://centralvabasscast.com/2012/02/2012-fantasy-fishing-contest/ http://centralvabasscast.com/2012/02/2012-fantasy-fishing-contest/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:46:25 +0000 SiteOwner http://centralvabasscast.com/?p=13267

Play Fantasy Fishing with CVBC to win a 100.00 Gift Card to the shop of your Choice

Get in the action now:

http://www.bassmasterfantasy.com/GroupHome.aspx?groupID=2661

Group: BassCast12

Password: basscast

The Gift card has to be a Store in Lynchburg, VA or an Online Store…

]]> http://centralvabasscast.com/2012/02/2012-fantasy-fishing-contest/feed/ 0 http://centralvabasscast.com/2012/02/catching-up-with-chris-lane/ http://centralvabasscast.com/2012/02/catching-up-with-chris-lane/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 22:55:53 +0000 SiteOwner http://centralvabasscast.com/?p=13261

Wayne Smelser talks with BASS angler Chris Lane about his Latest Lane win at the Southern Open #1 to qualify for the 2013 Classic.. Take a listen to what he had to say..

]]> http://centralvabasscast.com/2012/02/catching-up-with-chris-lane/feed/ 0 http://centralvabasscast.com/2012/02/chris-chris-of-woods-waters-talks-about-multy-arm-rigs/ http://centralvabasscast.com/2012/02/chris-chris-of-woods-waters-talks-about-multy-arm-rigs/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:57:32 +0000 SiteOwner http://centralvabasscast.com/?p=13251

This is a great interview with the guys from Woods & Waters on Multi casting Rigs and the tools u need to use them… Check out this video bellow….

]]> http://centralvabasscast.com/2012/02/chris-chris-of-woods-waters-talks-about-multy-arm-rigs/feed/ 0 http://centralvabasscast.com/2012/02/joey-dawson-catches-up-with-michael-waddell-roanoke-hunt-fest/ http://centralvabasscast.com/2012/02/joey-dawson-catches-up-with-michael-waddell-roanoke-hunt-fest/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:20:24 +0000 SiteOwner http://centralvabasscast.com/?p=13244

Joey Dawson catches up with Michael Waddell @ Roanoke Hunt Fest and talks with him about hunting and fishing with Hank Parker… Take a listen to what they had to say

]]> http://centralvabasscast.com/2012/02/joey-dawson-catches-up-with-michael-waddell-roanoke-hunt-fest/feed/ 0 http://centralvabasscast.com/2012/01/philpot-lake-report/ http://centralvabasscast.com/2012/01/philpot-lake-report/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 01:08:30 +0000 SiteOwner http://centralvabasscast.com/?p=13236

Submitted Feb 02, 2012 by Reel Bass Adventures:

“The bass fishing continues to be good. We are finding good numbers of bass on quick dropping ledges along the main river or in some of the deeper creeks. Our best bait remains the Manns Sting Ray grub, avocado color, rigged on a ¼ ounce ball head jig. We use Smelly Jelly fish attractant on our baits. Work the grubs in slow hops and try to remain in contact with the bottom or as close to it as you can. Bites may be subtle. The most active fish are usually on the shallow part of the ledge but fish can be located from the shallow to the deep part of the drop. Once you find a ledge with bass remain on it for a period of time. The fish may bite at different times throughout a tidal movement and one area may produce a dozen bass or more.”

Water Temperature: 43 degrees; Water clarity: 1-2 feet.

]]> http://centralvabasscast.com/2012/01/philpot-lake-report/feed/ 0 http://centralvabasscast.com/2012/01/january-feburary-philpott-lake-fishing-report/ http://centralvabasscast.com/2012/01/january-feburary-philpott-lake-fishing-report/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:35:56 +0000 SiteOwner http://centralvabasscast.com/?p=13229

 

Bass fishing at Philpott has been great due to the mild weather we received during the months of Nov. Dec and Jan. Water temps were above average for this time of year ; January water temps normally run in the 39*/41* degree mark , this year the water temps never got below 44* and now the water temps have risen to 46* on the main and 48*/49* in some of the creek arms.
Overview for January; Tournaments during this periode produced some great catches with 5 fish limits between 12 lbs and 17lbs. With a largemouth@6+ lbs and a smallmouth@4+ lbs being the largest weighed in during tournament hours. Several largemouth between 3&4 lbs also several 3+ lb smallmouth were weighed in.
Anglers reported catching largemouth bass on several lures and presentations that included; jigs , spoons , spinner-baits, jerk-baits and crankbaits.
Anglers that caught smallmouth bass reported; silverbuddys , hairjigs , grubs and finese jigs. Both largemouth and smallmouth were targeted in depths of 5 ft to 35ft deep. Shad is always a factor..!
Febuary forcast; as the days become longer and water temps start to rise. Bass will start to suspend on points leading into spawning areas. Jerkbaits worked slowly around these areas would be a great starting lure. If no takers on jerkbait , try slow rolling a small bladed spinner-bait on some of the many laydowns Philpott has to offer. Also a shakey-head , dropshot , finese jig and a mini-carolina rig can’t be over looked.
Tip for Febuary fishing; I always have an 3/4oz jigging spoon tied on just in case i go over a school of arcs on the bottom. You never know, them arcs may save the day….  As Always , take care , Ken

]]> http://centralvabasscast.com/2012/01/january-feburary-philpott-lake-fishing-report/feed/ 0 http://centralvabasscast.com/2012/01/cold-water-bassin-with-plastics/ http://centralvabasscast.com/2012/01/cold-water-bassin-with-plastics/#comments Sun, 29 Jan 2012 21:12:28 +0000 SiteOwner http://centralvabasscast.com/?p=13207

When it comes to being successful with plastics in the winter, there are three things to keep in mind. Downsize your bait, slow your presentation, and then when you think you’re fishing really slow, slow down even more. Even though fishing super slow might be as painfully boring as watching paint dry, if you’re trying to get bit in the frigid temps, you have to do what you have to do. In the winter, bass will generally eat only one 6^th of the amount of food they consume in the warmer months because there metabolism slows down to a crawl and smaller meals will sustain their hunger for a longer period of time. This explains the need for downsizing your presentation and not trying to force feed them with a larger bait. Granted, there will still be times in really cold water when a bass will go after a larger profile bait, but that’s a matter of being at the right place at the right time…and those times are far and few between . I know this isn’t the easiest change to make for the “big bait” fans out there but when it means the difference between getting bit and not getting bit, the anglers who adjust accordingly to the conditions will be successful more often than not.

That being said, let’s move forward to the “super slow” part of the cold water plastics program. Not only do bass move more sluggishly in the winter months, but their brain function slows down as well which affects their thought process and reaction time. This is why working your plastics super slowly is so important. If you work your plastics as you do in the summertime and don’t slow down dramatically, you can be passing right by catchable fish before their brain even gets a chance to process the thought “that’s an easy meal, I should eat it!”. Fortunately, the art of dead sticking is very simple. Once the bait hits the bottom, let it sit still for a couple minutes, drag it super slowly for a few inches, then let it sit again for 30 to 120 seconds, drag it super slowly again and so on and so forth. Although this technique doesn’t sound too exciting, the anglers that can discipline themselves to fish this way will be putting fish in the boat when most others are sitting home watching fishing shows and wishing it was spring. When it comes to fishing plastics in the winter, just remember…less is more.

Here’s our choices for catching frosty bass; The Craw D’oeuvre rigged on a shakey head and/or rigged on a 5/16 oz finesse jig as a trailer, The Finicky Tickler rigged on a shakey head or drop shot (with a short lead), the JP Hammer Shad rigged on a drop shot (with a short lead) or rigged on a small football head, the Grub rigged on a light jig head, and the 3.5” Texas-Rig Jig rigged on a light football/arkie head. All of these baits can be fished on spinning gear, so yes, you can wear gloves! And to help you detect the subtle hits and spongy weight of the sluggish winter bass, for ultimate sensitivity we recommend using 15lb to 20lb braid topped off with a 6 to 8ft section of 6 to 12 lb fluorocarbon leader.  So if you decide you want to do some cold water bassin’ with plastics, dress for the conditions, downsize your bait, SLOW your presentation, be patient and the results can be surprisingly rewarding.

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