Carolina Outdoors Forum

Big Bass Bonanza and Yellow Pollen

fishgetter — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 11:37:47 +0000

You can tell its springtime in Carolina ! The dogwoods and azeala’s are in full bloom. And you are sneezing…everything is yellow as in pine pollen yellow. Man, I don’t think I’ve ever seen it so bad this spring, we need rain. The pollen is so thick there is a visibility advisory at RDI airport. You can wash your vehicle and in a couple hours its back yellow again !

But springtime in Carolina means big hooksets and big fish and theres plenty of them showing up ! And I mean BIG HOOKSETS and BIG FISH !

Lets take a look at some of them. First up is a pair of Harris monsters from Josh Hooks. With a name like that he’s naturally gonna be a fisherman. Its no secret that Harris is probably the primier big fish hot spot in Carolina’s as shown by the congestion at the ramps right now, man its been crazy ! These two topped the scales at 10.12 and 8.72.

Speaking of topping, Chris Wood, aka “Topper” does his best to top Hooks with another Harris Toad. He tried to keep his spot secret and what he “hooked” her on but the picture is a dead give away. If you haven’t tried the new Eagle Claw Lazer TroKar hooks, you should as they are by far the sharpest hook on the market.

This Toad “Topper” hit the scales at 9.1 lbs. Now thats sticking the Trokar Wood to them!

You don’t have to go to Harris Lake to catch a hawg as Tommy Lineberger proves. There is several lakes in Carolina that could produce a record catch on any given cast. Here’s a picture that to my knowledge is the largest caught so far this spring.

The hawg hit the scales at 12.5 lbs for Tommy Lineberger. Awesome fish !

And to prove that it doesn’t have to be a largemouth to be a monster, Andrew Livingston submitted this Carolina smallmouth.

The big smallie topped the scales at over 5 lbs. Yes, we have smallmouth in the Carolina’s! And finally, we have to put up this bass from Kerr Lake. I haven’t seen alot of big bass on the banks of Kerr yet, but they are coming as shown by Paul Owens with this nice 5.9 lb catch.

Great catches by all ! Get out there, the big fish are on the banks and theres no better time to catch that fish of a lifetime. Please remember, these fish got this big because of catch and release. Do as these great anglers did, “catch, photo and release” so someone else can experience a Carolina Monster too. You caught a ten pounder? Or one bigger than 12 lbs? Post your big bass catches here for all to see! Good Fish’n! www.carolinaoutdoors.net

New Additions, Research and Upgrades to Area Lakes

fishgetter — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 02:08:38 +0000

If you see something strange floating at Falls Lake on your next visit, you better look closely because its a new way to fight pollution at Falls Lake.

In conjunction with N.C. State University and the city of Durham, 16 “floating islands” were launched this week in an experiment to see whether a Carrboro company’s product helps rid nitrogen and phosphorus pollution.

The islands were finished and floated Wednesday and Thursday, and right now they look like 400-square-foot mats of green fiberglass, studded with sprigs of greenery. What interests the scientists and city officials is that, as the plants grow, they take nutrients out of the water.

Speaking of Falls, there is more good news. The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission finished installing a third courtesy dock at Upper Barton’s Creek boat ramp, just as the boating and bass tournament season begins to pick up steam at the popular launch.

“It should clear up some congestion,” said Mark Hamlett of the commission’s engineering division.

Unlike the other two existing docks, which each run between a pair of ramps, this extra dock was installed to serve as a holding area, allowing a place for boaters waiting their turn to dock while they get their trucks and trailer, which can be parked several hundred yards away when the parking lot is full.

And there’s good news in the making for Jordan Lake. Remember all that rain in February? Jordan’s level peaked at 227.53 feet above sea level on Feb. 7. That’s more than 11 feet above what’s considered the normal level. The high water coupled with heavy winds turned the rickety courtesy docks at Ebeneezer boat ramp into rubbish. With Ebeneezer being one of four ramps on the lake that are open 24 hours a day, there probably will be more congestion at the other ramps this spring.

But the good news is that work, which should last about two weeks, is scheduled to start in less than six weeks, according to Erik Christofferson, who heads the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s engineering department.

Easter Weekend High Roof and Water Ramblings

fishgetter — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 00:45:03 +0000

Hope everyone had a great Easter weekend. I spend most of my week prior to the holiday up on a roof…..as in my roof. The project started out as new shingles only but ended up being a complete new roof structure. Once we got the shingles off, there was some structural damage to several rafters. 26 – 2×4, 14 - 4×8 and 30 squares of shingles later, I’m off to Kerr Lake to fish a team tournament with a buddy.

We arrive to register for the tournament without practice to find high and extremely muddy water on Kerr. We also find one of the toughest days I can ever remember for Kerr in April. We catch a limit that doesn’t even hit ten pounds! It took only 13 lbs to win and 9 lbs to cash a check. And I’m talking about a tournament that had 143 boats. No April Fools here.

Thats right, 143 boats, which has to be one of the largest team events in years for any where in or outside Carolina. And I must say, it was one of the best run and angler friendly tournaments I have ever fished, which probably explains the large following. The series of tournaments are put on by Anglers Choice Marine, a local Ranger boat dealership. Its a low entry fee event that has a season ending championship. Along the way, theres plenty of good competetion, fellowship and food! Yes, food as they put on a free meal after each weigh in. Anglers Choice has it going on, and they are filling a growing need and desire for a quality team tournament series. Paybacks are lacking somewhat but for a $100 entry fee, its some great team fishing fun with some local good sticks entered. I fished it, along with local Elite BASS Pro Dave Wolak and many Kerr heavy hitters like the father-son Inman team, so its no just a good run trail, its a top notch angler trail.

Hope the Easter bunny was good to you. I got home in time to go to my church early Easter Sunday morning service with my family. Spent the rest of the day with family and a great easter dinner. Get out and go fishing. The dogwoods are in bloom, the pine pollen has everything coated in yellow and the fish are biting. Me, I got my belly full and one sore back and hands, I’m going to rest. Good Fish’n!

New Boater Regulations Goes Overboard

fishgetter — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 12:35:48 +0000

Starting May 1st, anyone under the age of 26 operating a boat in N.C. must have a certificate showing they completed a boater safety course. Under 26 years of age? This is overkill. I like the law but 26 is way too old. Maybe 21 or even 19 but not 26. NC allows a kid at 16 drive a car, is a boat more deadly? Whats your thoughts with this new law?

Post Norman FLW Notes and Thoughts

fishgetter — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 12:16:52 +0000

Norman FLW is in the books, Brian Thrift basically took names in the event. It was a much deserved win and very emotional win for Brian. Most who know Brian, know that his dad traveled with him to every FLW tournament. He was Brians biggest supporter and fan. He died of cancer in Jan of this year, months before Brians first major victory. I knew Brians Dad from my travels in FLW Tour. He was always a smiling face at the ramp and weigh ins. And he was always the biggest cheerleader for the “Carolina” boys where ever we fished. Brians dad enjoyed a friendly game of poker, and we would gather in their room for the fun and sometimes release from tournament fishing pressure. He will be missed by all. Good job Brian.

Norman FLW 2010 will go down for a couple Carolina anglers as a big “What IF”. Local Norman stick and good friend Todd Auten is still scratching his head after a day 3 costly mistake. Todd consistently remained in the top 10 each day, with a good possiblity to make the final day and a Norman win. On day three, Todd only weighed 4 fish, be it not by failure to catch his limit. Sometime during the day, Todd made a mistake while culling, seems he either miss counted or threw back two fish in one cull. For whatever reason, he came to the scales with only 4 fish after culling what he thought was his 6th fish each catch but was actually his 5th. Costly mistake for him as he missed the final day cut by few lbs. It also cost him thousand of dollars in the difference from his resulting finish of 25th place to perhaps a top ten or greater. OUCH !

Another big “OUCH” goes out to co-angler Monica Altman of Angier NC. While fishing with Pro Chris Baumgardner the third day, he reports she hooked two huge bass on a Red Eye Shad that got off. Chris estimates that one was atleast 6 lbs maybe bigger….alot bigger reports Baumgardner. When you take in perspective that Altman didn’t weigh in a limit the third day, a fish of just 6 lbs in her creel was alot of money lost. Monica finished out of the money, but add 6 lbs more and she jumps way into the money. We’ve all been there, right? I remember more fish that got away that the ones that I caught.

New Zero Gravity Jig From CLU: Most Universal Jig Ever Made

fishgetter — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 01:39:05 +0000

I used to think the jig was like the mouse trap, not much to improve. Kelly Barefoot at Custom Lures Unlimited proved me wrong. The new CLU Zero Gravity jig* is by far (stealing the phrase) “the most universal jig ever made”. I watched Kelly start from a simple scratch pad drawing to become like a mad scientist confined to his dark lab obsessed with making his Zero Gravity jig right. I saw prototype after prototype either hit the trashbin or just not make the grade. I also saw a man determined to make his vision reality. Trip after trip to the water, sleepless night after night and long hours has finally seen one of the most unique jigs to hit the market. “Its Alive..its Alive”! Wake, swim, flip, pitch, c-rig, jerk or twitch it. It may look like a regular jig, to really appreciate the Zero Gravity, you have to hold it in your hand and then fish it. Check it out: http://www.customluresunlimited.com/zero_gravity

Ike Marvels at the Zero Gravity Jig

*Zero Gravity jigs are exclusively available to central NC anglers at Tobacco Roads Outdoors at 225 N. Salem St, Apex NC. Phone: 919 267-9353

NC State Bass Team Wins FLW Collegiate Divisional Tournament

fishgetter — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 00:33:20 +0000

N.C. State University team of Jeff Bumgardner of Wade, N.C., and Will White of Raleigh, N.C., won the National Guard FLW College Fishing Northern Division on Mt. Island Lake Saturday with six bass weighing 21 pounds, 3 ounces. The victory earned the team $10,000 to be split evenly between the university and the university’s bass-fishing club.
“We knew what we were going to do and we pulled up to our first spot, and that’s where we caught all of our fish,” said White, who is a senior Wood Products major. “We caught our limit by 10 o’clock. We actually caught five of our six by 9 o’clock and then it took just a little grinding to get that sixth fish off the rock pile. We decided to come in to the weigh-in about 30 to 45 minutes early just to make sure we wouldn’t have to worry about boat trouble or anything of that nature,” said Bumgardner, who is a sophomore General Studies major.

White said the team caught all of their fish on a crawdad-patterned crankbait. White said they caught seven keepers and lost one fish during the course of the day.

For full tournament results, visit: http://www.collegefishing.com/tournament.cfm?tid=6514&t=results

Jeff Bumgardner - Will White

Summertime Cranking on Jordan Lake

fishgetter — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 20:48:07 +0000

In this show, learn tips on deep cranking from what to look for and how to fish it properly. The time is early June, the air temps are in upper 90′s and the water temps in the 80′s. The weather is hot as is this video.

DJ Hook Sets Another Song

fishgetter — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 02:15:09 +0000

DJ Fishinman is the artist who wrote and sings “On the Road in Carolina Outdoors”. Alot have ask for more from DJ. Well, get prepared for a new remix release of “On the Road in Carolina Outdoors”. Until then, heres alittle more from DJ Fishinman, including a recent released music video of a Sam Cooke classic. The other is an original called “Hookset Dance”.