Moonlight Kitties...

I was up at 5 AM today. Coffee. Scripture study (Luke 9). Prayer. Then I performed my weekly head-shaving ritual, shaved my face, and then flossed and brushed my teeth. I spent the rest of the day entering transactions for the last month in my checkbook, then going online to see which ones had cleared (and clearing them in my register), then throwing away receipts that had cleared (and shredding cleared checks and anything else that the identity thieves might misuse). Paid all the bills that were due. Filed about three months' worth of unfiled papers (and threw away or shredded a good bit as well). By the time these tasks were done, it was something on the order of 3 PM, and I was still in my pajamas! I had just enough time to run between a half-dozen and a dozen errands before dropping off my daughter at Saturday night service at our church. By the time I got home, it was about 6 PM. My mind was mush. Decided to try for some more channel cats in the same spot I had such good luck in this past Wednesday night.

Lots of surface chumming brought in the turtles by the dozens, and I also saw swirls and heard the characteristic smacks of channel cats feeding on the surface. Unfortunately, they weren't interested in my punch bait today. I didn't get any takes until nearly dark, when my first take proved to be an angry snapper in excess of 20 pounds! I ended up landing five channel kitties. I say "kitties" because the smallest fully qualified as a dink (about hand-sized) and the largest probably wasn't over a pound. At least I averted the dreaded skunk. The last hour or so was at least more interesting. I also got to watch a gorgeous full moon rise above the horizon and ascend toward the northeast. Unlike the other night, I didn't hear or see many larger fish chasing minnows.

As it was getting on toward 9 PM, I decided to make a couple last casts to my left, where it appeared that something large was cruising around from several swirls I saw. I made a cast just beyond where I'd seen the swirls with great anticipation. Unfortunately, when I tried to reel in the slack after my cast, there was a significant tangle at my reel--so significant, in fact, that I had to cut my line to free the bird's nest. At that point, it was time to call it quits for the night.

Curiously, despite all the floating trout chow I've been putting out (and dry dog food and bread pieces), the carp have been nowhere to be found the last two times out. Don't know why, but they're not feeding off the surface like they were a week or two ago. Why? Not sure. Cooler temps have anything to do with it?

I may not have had quite the same luck I did the other night, but a few hours on the bank greatly alleviated the stress that had accumulated with the day's busyness, at least temporarily restored my sanity, and made me ready to turn in satisfied and at peace. Good thing--tomorrow starts at 4:30 AM!

Thoroughly catisfied!

Between 6 and 9 PM tonight, I landed eleven channel cats from dinks to almost 4 pounds.

I think I've found the way to keep almost all the turtles off my hookbaits. I just feed them lots of floating trout chow, dog food, and bread. They stay preoccupied with the floating fare, my hook stays unbothered (excepting one 10 pound snapper--hey, they don't feed on top!).

All cats were caught using a puddle chucker and fishing punch bait on a #6 treble hook about a foot deep. As it got close to dark, I could see larger fish chasing minnows on the surface out in the middle of the lake (within or close to maximum casting distance). Several times after dark I cast directly to a swirl and got an immediate take. Of course, as darkness approached, I changed out my float's day-glow orange insert for a "Starlight" glow-in-the-dark insert. Float fishing at night? No problem!

I must say it was a gorgeous night to be on the water. Upon my arrival I sprayed myself with a Eucalyptus-based bug repellent, and it seemed to work very well indeed! No mosquito bites whatsoever! The temperature was just right, the water was like a mirror, and the moon was almost full. If I didn't have to get up early tomorrow for early transmission control duty, I might have stayed out another hour and caught a few more. No matter and no need to get greedy; a beautiful night with plenty of cat action--delightful!

Can't get no catisfaction, but stalking succeeds!

After this past Monday's success attracting and catching carp and channel cats, I set out this evening with the same plan, only in a different part of the neighborhood lake. I have been wanting to try a point where several arms of the lake converge, and where this lake is at its deepest--around 6-7 feet. My hope was that, during these dog days, bigger channel cats would spend the day in the cooler, darker depths, then venture toward the margins to hunt as the sun started to set. I brought two rods: a 6.5 foot Ugly Stik for channel cats on the float, and my 12' crappie pole with 6-lb. test and an ultralight spinning reel in case the carp started feeding on top--a good rig for dropping a piece of bread impaled on a small hook in the midst of clopping carp. I started out today as I did the other day, scattering handfuls of floating trout chow, dry dog food, and small pieces of bread 10-15 feet off shore. Of course the first to come were the ubiquitous hard-shelled folk, who quickly numbered a dozen or more, all happily munching on the floating fare. After I had rigged my catfish rod, I cast out beyond the floating chum, then reeled my float back into position, sinking the line in the process to keep the float from being dragged under by the wind. As the flotilla of particles would gradually disappear down voracious turtles' maws, I would throw out more, hoping to attract both carp and cats to the area, and, hopefully, to get them feeding on the surface. After many casts, re-casts, and handfuls of chum, I never had a nibble on my catfish rig, even though I could see some swirls that looked like small catfish in the vicinity. After a half hour of inactivity (excepting turtles, of course), I decided to pull up stakes and head back to the spot I had such good luck at Monday night. On the way back, I was walking along a shallow cove. When I got most of the way down it toward where my car was parked, I saw a carp in the margins feeding on the surface near a large sycamore tree about six feet from the water's edge. I decided to see if I could lower a little piece of bread and get a take. Unfortunately from a fishing perspective, my wife Carolyn called at that moment, and, by the time we had finished our brief conversation a few minutes later, that carp I had seen had disappeared. I decided to tear a piece of white bread into small pieces and throw them close to where I'd seen that carp grazing on the surface in hopes of luring him (her?) and possibly others in. It didn't take five minutes before several carp converged on the bread and started slurping it up. Staying behind the sycamore tree trunk as much as possible, I gently lowered my breaded hook to the surface. Even though there were carp slurping up bread all around, my hookbait went untouched until it fell off the hook from becoming water saturated. This scenario replayed itself about three or four times before I finally got one of the slurping denizens of the deep to take my floating doughball. I waited just a second after the take to make sure the carp had my bait (and hook) fully in its mouth, then I set the hook! That carp took off like a freight train toward where the creek joined the larger lake. Made quite a nice first run before I was able to gain a little ground. Several more powerful runs, then eventually I was able to guide my prize to my waiting net. Yes! I brought it up onto the grass away from the water's edge to remove the hook and snap a quick picture or two. I was able to get the hook out with my just my hand--no needlenose pliers required this time, but the hook hold was solid, thanks to a new, sharp Korda Krank #10 hook. After three quick pix, I quickly returned my catch to the net, then back into the safety of its home waters. I had just enough light left to try once more, but the carp had been so spooked off by the previous fight's frenzied runs, that it soon got too dark to see my floating bait clearly enough to keep fishing. No matter, that one stalking success more than made up for the lack of catfish action. Carpisfied!

Catisfied!

After a couple of sessions feeding floating trout pellets and bread to attract carp to the surface in the lake behind my house, I noticed that a lot of channel cats also take both pellets and bread off the top. Tonight I decided to feed the same surface fare, but only use it to attract channel cats into the area, then target them.

After tearing up a couple pieces of bread and throwing the pieces only a few feet off shore, suddenly the turtle mayhem started to be interrupted by the odd carp. Pretty quickly, the carp--I'd say a half dozen--were confidently snarfing up my bread mere feet away. Once they showed up in numbers, the dozen-or-so turtles quickly gave way. I could not resist lowering a breaded hook onto the surface, Sure enough, within seconds one of the voracious goldies grabbed my doughball, and the battle was on. After a nice fight, I landed a 3-4 pound common with one section of distorted scales on one side. Of course, that take and the frenzied fight that ensued in the immediate area pretty much spooked off the rest of the carp. Seemed like a good time to switch over to channel cats.

I selected a puddle chucker float and set it about a foot above a single #6 treble hook baited with punch bait--Sudden Impact to name names. Before too many casts, I had a sudden, violent take on the float and hooked a dinky channel cat. Fortunately, he flipped off the hook just as I was lifting him out of the water. OK by me--those whiskery critters have sharp spines on their dorsal and pectoral fins and gill openings. Long story short: over about the next hour (roughly 8 to 9 PM), I landed nine channel cats, all between 1-2 pounds and the largest of about 5. I did not weigh any of them, but I did snap a quick pic of the largest. I was hoping to get to double digits tonight, but, for the last fifteen minutes or so, no takes except a large slider--of course I can't go fishing without banking one of the hard-shelled folk!

I was able to fish after dark again with the help of one of those "Starlights" the little glowing float inserts made by Drennan that enable one to see the float well in utter darkness.

All in all, a very catisfying evening!

Probably all the fishing I'll do this weekend...

Many commitments this weekend, so I wanted to get in a little angling this evening before I lost my opportunity for the weekend. With light rain this afternoon, the carp will be patrolling the margins in the neighborhood lake. It didn't take me long to find some about fifty yards down the bank. Unfortunately, the first one I saw saw me first and drifted away. I decided to try an ambush approach, throwing out some sweet corn and deer corn a little way off the bank and fishing under a float in the middle of it. After a half-hour of nothing but one slider, a move to a new spot was in order. Going down a little farther, I saw a carp--I'd estimate at five pounds--slurping off the surface near shore. I tried to stealthily lower some corn in front of it, but it saw me and spooked. I tried another twenty minutes of ambush in that spot before I caught a snapping turtle of around ten pounds. After that, I decided to try to see, since I had already seen carp on the surface, if I could get them feeding on floating trout pellets off the top. Threw a few handfuls out, and, after a little while, I began to hear channel cats sucking in the pellets. Their surface feeding is unmistakable--a loud smacking sound and a mighty swirl. I also started to see some carp gently slurping the floating pellets off the surface. I decided to bait up with a little chunk of bread, freelined on a #10 Korda Krank hook. After several tries, I saw a carp approaching my bread. He sucked it off the top, and, a second later, I set the hook. It wasn't much of a fight, as he was only 2-3 pounds, but I was happy to net a fish for a change. I quickly unhooked and released him, anxious to get another piece of bread back on the surface. On the next cast, I got the unmistakable smack of a channel cat. I set the hook, and this one gave me a little more of a fight. Soon after, I was unhooking it and letting it go to fight another day. By this time, it was nearly dark, and it was starting to rain steadily, albeit lightly. I tried a couple casts using the light of my head torch to illuminate the floating bread so I could see if I got a strike, but it seemed that the light of the head torch was spooking off bites. Whereas I had been hearing a steady stream of smacks and seeing regular swirls, they seemed to taper off. I was getting pretty wet, so I decided to give it up for the night. Something I learned tonight was that chumming trout chow on the surface really attracts channel cats to the area. In the future, I can use this chum to get them swimming around the area and in a feeding mood, and then fish for them using punch bait under a float. From the sound of some of the loud smacks and large swirls, there were some pretty sizable channel cats feeding--I'm still trying to land a trophy channel cat--12 pounds or above in Virginia--and I'm pretty sure there are some that big in this lake. My kind of way to start off a weekend!

I had pretty low expectations, and they were fully met!

Just finished up a short session (6 AM to 9AM) at one of the lakes where the 20-pounders swim. I fished three rods with semi-bolt rigs (1 oz. egg sinkers with a split shot squeezed on about a foot up the line) and blow back rigs on #6 Korda Long Shank X hooks under Polaris floats for bite indication and as markers for catapulting chum corn. Bait was prepped field corn tipped with popup maize on two rods, and an Evolution Carp Tackle corn stack and maggot cluster on the third. Fished one wide left, one in the middle, and one wide right, all about 30 feet or so offshore, just where the bottom levels out to 14 feet deep. Catapulted about three pouchfuls over each float to start, then about a 1/2 pouchful every fifteen minutes or so. Never got a run. I did have something messing about with the left rod for awhile--the float was bobbing a bit--this turned out to be a turtle. I could see a lot of bubbling around and just past my floats, which was where I was chumming, which was encouraging, but no one ever found the hookbaits. I had a nice, cool morning (mid-70s, I'd guess) and a shady spot from which to fish.

Provided I can actually catch from this spot, it's a nice location in the early morning hours. I have caught some nice low and mid doubles here in years past in the early spring. Summer on this lake is a toughie--many past blanks.

I also fished a fourth rod just on the other side of a bank-side tree. This one was really close in--about five feet off shore. Same bait and chum fished under a loaded puddle chucker. No margin action this time. I saw lots of swirls, bait fish, and other fishy signs all around. Looking forward to trying here again when I have time for a longer session. If I'd had more time to prep last night, I would have mixed up some Panko/Oats pack bait and fished the method, but I'll have to try that approach on another visit. Tried out my newly-acquired Fox large rucksack for the first time. I was easily able to fit all of my boilies and Demon jumbo corn (together enough to fill a small fridge) in it with room and compartments to spare. Looking forward to putting it to more use! My next piscatory opportunity may be Sunday afternoon...we'll see!