Looking forward to the 2012 season

Firstly, I think it important to understand the level to which fishing has consumed my life.

Fishing has become, over the past few years, my true passion.  I need it, I yearn for it, I work more hours now so I can take time off in the spring for it.  I find nothing in the world as relaxing and exciting as being on the water searching for my elusive foe.

I feel it mostly spiritually.  Being a guy that believes in God and his son, yet not being the Sunday morning go to meetin' kind.  The water is my church, the boat my pew, and my preacher - god's creation.  I see his beauty, majesty, and power in every sunrise...fog lifting slowly off the water...birds and fowl of every sort flying, swimming, and diving around; he's in there, every bit.  Every fish I catch seems to glow with creation.  I know this sounds odd and a bit obsessive. All I can say to that is...I don't care, I love it.  I feel truly connected to the earth and its creator when I'm out there.

I spent most of my life liking different things.  I liked motorcycles, cooking, baseball...I have liked lots of things throughout my life but never had I found something that I loved.  Yes, I love my family and friends, but never a thing.  This thing...this thing I love.  It fills me with something that eludes most...joy.

Having attempted to explain how I feel about fishing, one should understand  the symptoms of that obsession.

I spent last season fishing out of a 14 foot jon boat and trolling motor. Not the quickest way to get around on any body of water, but my sanctuary none-the-less.  I upgraded my vessel to a 1986 17' Fiberglass bass boat by Bass-Hawk, which are no longer produced.  When Bass-Hawk was in business they were made in Olive Hill Kentucky, which adds to my buy local frame of mind.   I love it. Yes it's old, yes the gel coat is faded, but it's mine.  It has character and class, if a boat can have either.  The 115 Johnson outboard, made around the same time as the boat, runs like a dream with a top speed of about 45 mph.  It's not going to outrun a Ranger but frankly I fish better than most of those guys anyway, or at least that's what I think.  This is symptom number 1, buying a bass boat before buying a new car that you really need.  Don't worry the boat is paid off now and I have recently purchased a new car to tow it with.  Which presents symptom number 2, buying a car based on its ability to tow a 2000 pound bass boat.  Not on its safety rating or gas millage.

After the season was over, meaning cold weather set in, I had the boat winterized and in the back yard it sits waiting till the first warm spell in February or March.  Now the big question is what the hell do I do now that I can't get on the water!

Hunting, something I had never really done until this year, was on the agenda.  I shot and killed my first deer this year.  I must say, it was exciting, fun, and felt absolutely great to be in the woods, even at 5am.  Not to mention, delicious. 

After having spent November in the woods, distraction was much needed.   Not having my usual lake time outlet of pent up energy, I needed something.  Jann's netcraft offered the outlet.  I began making lures.  I had designed jigs and spinnerbaits in the past and continued producing more and more.  Every size and color combination lay across my work bench, but I wanted to do more.  Now plastic lures take up most of my space on the bench.  Again, I love it.  Flukes, worms, senkos, craws, and creature baits.  Softener, hardener, colors, molds, dyes, and glitter.  It's like a chemical craftstore in my basement.  I know how great it will feel when I catch a bass on a hunk of plastic that I designed and created.

All for what? The love of the game?  Catch a fish? What is it?  For me, it's a combination nature and the connection to it, the spiritual closeness it makes me feel, and yes catching a slouch.  You can thank Mark Zone for that.

I guess my point here is that the world is really so very awesome find that thing that brings you joy, and pursue it constantly.

This blog with feature mostly reports from Cedar Creek Lake in Stanford, KY, but may also have some reports from fishing elsewhere around the state and perhaps the world.  Feel free to post comments and pictures

Also check out the Cedar Creek Lake FaceBook page here:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cedar-Creek-Lake/202952089718249

Justin

Cedar Creek Lake

Cedar Creek Lake April 3, 2010

Cedar Creek Lake seems to be the new hot spot in Kentucky big bass fishing. The timber laden water is usually clear and calm as it was on this day after a small front moved through and the winds died down in the late afternoon.

Reports at the dock were positive as I put in, around 3:00pm. My fellow comrades in arms had found good luck around various points and shallows, some in deep water off the main ramp near the dam.

Bass seem to be staging in deeper water ready to move up into shallow waters to spawn. The spawn is coming and the great feast just prior to it, should be on now.

I found not quite the same luck as my fellows, however as I moved into a small cove up from the second ramp, mainly to get out of the winds blowing my small jon boat around the lake. I tossed a black and red flake Chigger Craw on a jig head up against a tree for which the lake is so aptly named and took a swing and a miss on a interested party. This may have been an early spawning sow that only wanted to move my lure out of her well prepared nest. I was unable to get her to take it again.

I tried a few other tactics in the area with little luck. They seemed not aggressive enough to attack any type of small crank bait. I was sure my Sexy Shad diver would anger them enough, it did not. I decided to try something a bit bigger and through an over-sized spinner, of the same color, at them. After a few unsuccessful attempts I tossed it way back into a pile of floating lay-downs. I was attacked with vengeance nearly as it hit the water. She was a very angry girl and not happy with my disruption. After careful pulling her up and over a few logs and dislodging her from under another she came into sight. She was indeed a fat girl, more of a lineman than a wide receiver. She was a healthy 3 pound 12 oz lady at about 18 inches.

I stayed in the cove until some crappie guys came to run me out, actually they were very nice and asked if it was ok it they fished for some blackies behind me. I really didn't mind I just wanted out of the wind.

I decided it was time to venture back out into the breach. The wind had died and the water was flat calm.

I tried the flats with a lipless crank and the spinner without any luck. I went to the roadbed where the bottom drops from 6-8 ft to 12-15 ft rather quickly. The depth finder showed some activity but my soft plastics where unable to do the job. One big swing One big miss.

I decided to try the creek channel at the north end where I sight fished spawners last year. None yet.

Then as always to the berm. Everyone knows it, everyone fishes it. Well, it is a highway. Road bed, big drop, rocks and timber. If I was a fish I would go through there too. Nothing.

Beside the berm is the second highway (deep creek channel), I decided the big watermelon lizard was a good choice. And as I hooked up on something heavy, it seemed I was right. And she ran, the problem was she ran through the woods and pinned herself under a tree. I tried to convince her I would let her going and that I only wanted to meet and chat for a min, perhaps take a photo. Evidently she didn't care and tossed my bait and hooked it into the same tree in which she made her temporary home. I dislodged my lizard and tried again. She had spread the news of my arrival. No takers.

As I put my small Jon boat on the trailer the guy at the dock seemed to think they were staging in about 20 foot of water, where he had plucked 5 earlier. 2 over 5 pounds. His pictures showed that he was not a big fat liar, if they had indeed been taken today, one can never tell.

Mackie Pike

Mackie Pike - 4/13/10

After work is a great time to go fishing. Now that I think of it there no bad time really, unless perhaps there is a tornado or some such.

Yesterday, I decided that life was too oppressive to go without fishing for another second. So I crept to the nearest fishin' hole I knew of, which in this case was a small creek I know as Mackie Pike. It runs along a road of the same name which is only a few miles from my house.

I threw a small spinning rig in my truck and my creek box of lures. My creek box is only about the size of a pack of cigarettes. The lures I take to Mackie only consist of a very few essentials. I take a bare hook and split shot in the rare case I use some type of live bait, which I assure you is very very rare. I also take a small Rebel grasshopper and crawfish diver. They only dive about a foot or so. And of course I have a white Rooster Tail and a yellow, 1/8 oz I think and that's it. They all throw quite well on the ultra light spinning rig. And If you can't catch everything that swims on one of those baits you really should consider doing something else with your time.

Really, if you go to a creek with those in a small box you can catch any manner of fish pretty much all day. Despite their small size you can catch some reasonably large fish as well. The fight of a one pound fish on my three foot ultra light is too fun for words. You really have to work them hard.

Anyway to the fishing. I pulled up on the side of the road with my little dog at my side and away we went. The spot I fish is where two forks of the small creek come together. My dog (Dax) was very happy to be out and about and very curious about every blade of grass stick she could find. We hopped the guardrail...well she went under I hopped, and walked the short distance down to the water.

The two streams of water come together and create a pooling area with swirls and wakes and calms areas. The spot also has a rather deep area to the left hand side near a large tree on the bank. Aim for the deep hole. Fire. I decided it best to start with the 1/8 oz yellow Rooster Tail. My lure was ambushed by the third cast. The fat girl jumped and splashed violently. She was a very respectable small mouth, very bronze in color with nice vertical stripes. I would have to guess that she weighted about a pound and a half.

After a few more unproductive attempts I switched to the grass hopper then the white Rooster Tail 1/4 oz and had no luck.

Then I went to my last lure, the crawfish (natural color). This was a good idea. I caught another fairly quickly. This one was not quite as large as the first but it will keep me sane for another day.

Go fishing.