Carters Lake Trip/Wednesday.....4/5/2007

[Louie B]

Sorry for the late report.

I had a full day trip w/ Bob Gearing out of Woodstock GA. This was my 3rd trip with Bob and let me tell you this guy is a STRIPER FANATIC LOL, especially when it comes to catching them on topwater & swim baits.... Bob is a real inspiration, over 20 years ago he was involved in a serious car wreck and was left paralized from the waist down. I am amazed at how much this guy loves to fish and be outdoors. It takes more effort and work for this man to get in and out of the boat than it does most of us in a full days work. He never stops fishing even when it's tough he keeps on cast after cast, I've truly enjoyed my trips w/ Bob.

We had a great trip Wednesday catching both spots and stripers/hybrids, and carp if that counts??? I don't know whats going on w/ these carp but all of the sudden they're eating the paint off my jerkbaits. Who ever has put the carp curse on me please take it off, LOL! Bob and I ended up catching 12 total for the day, and 1 Carp LOL. We had 10 massive blow-ups Wednesday morning but only managed to boat a couple of those fish (all striper). Bob got his biggest hybrid ever on Wednesday as well. The fish weighed around 8lbs and it was caught on topwater.

For the stripers we focused on topwater w/ Swim Baits, Sammys, and Redfins. After the topwater slowed we went after the spots and fished deep points and humps w/ crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and jerkbaits.

Hope everyone has a great weekend, good luck on the water.

LB

 

[Liveliner]

Very nice haul you got there. Nice redfish. I have been thinking about those things all day.
By the way I put the spot back on yours. J/KemoLaugh

 

[Louie B]

Liveliner - 4/5/2007 5:03 PM

Very nice haul you got there. Nice redfish. I have been thinking about those things all day.
By the way I put the spot back on yours. J/KemoLaugh

I like that liveliner. I've always wanted to go after some Red's, I never looked at the carp that way maybe I'm on to something here???

LB

 

[ranman]

Is that a Tritoon hat and a Ranger hoody?Show some loyalty son that's bad karma emoPokeThat's where the carp are coming from!

 

[Louie B]

ranman - 4/5/2007 7:19 PM

Is that a Tritoon hat and a Ranger hoody?Show some loyalty son that's bad karma emoPokeThat's where the carp are coming from!

I know, your right..... I've had that hoody FOR EVER and it's hard to let go..... I'm a Triton man no doubt but that hoody is comfortable, not to mention it soaks up that carp slime real good LOL!

LB

 

[ranman]

I know what your sayin,I have a spy optics hoody on right now that's thread bare.This thing has to be about 8 years old by now but I love it and I aint getting rid of it as long as it still keeps me warm!nothing like the trusty ol' hoody on a cool day!

 

[hooker771]

Just curious, does that pad your partner is sitting on have a belt attached to it?

 

[Louie B]

hooker771 - 4/5/2007 7:39 PM

Just curious, does that pad your partner is sitting on have a belt attached to it?

No hooker771 I don't think it had a belt attached to it.

LB

 

[Liveliner]

Triton-LB - 4/5/2007 10:07 PM

Liveliner - 4/5/2007 5:03 PM

Very nice haul you got there. Nice redfish. I have been thinking about those things all day.
By the way I put the spot back on yours. J/KemoLaugh

I like that liveliner. I've always wanted to go after some Red's, I never looked at the carp that way maybe I'm on to something here???

A few years ago Flip Pallot of the saltwater fishing show " Walker's Cay Chronicles" aired a trip to our Gunnersville to fly fish for shoaling carp. Flip raved about the adventure and placed the carp way up on his list as one of his most favorite fish to persue. He compared them to Bull Reds and Bonefish fishing. Ever since then I have had a different respect for the carp as a true fighter. They are very simular to redfish in many ways. But not the taste.

LB

 

[Triton Mike]

Louie, Great report. I admire people like Bob!! They have every reason to quit but their dedication to beat the odds and enjoy life is remarkable. Bob great job and it sounds like you guys had a blast!

Mike

 

[BobG603]

Louie, (aka Carpe Diem)

Thanks for another great trip Wednesday. Carter's Lake is notorious for stumping even the savviest of anglers, but you consistently have put me on quality fish every time we've gone. I'm still shaking my head over the striper I broke off first thing- man, that cow was well in her 20's!

Here's my take on the day:
With a major front pushing through and water temps dropping over 10 degrees in 1 day, we still had a fine day- we just had to work a little harder for 'em! The fish seemed tentative at best, with several follow ups to the boat seen- and I can only imagine what our catch would have been if we boated some of the many boil-ups we had. The afternoon winds really kicked up, making it a real challenge keeping the boat in position and our lures in the strike zone. Still, a dozen decent fish is a successful trip in my book.

The Spot fishing was a bunch of fun, too- dang, those are some feisty fish! Wanting to work on my crankbait technique, I was using a lure I had just picked up- a jointed Rapala Shad Rap in Baby Bass pattern, and seemed to be the right pick (don't ya love it when that happens?). I appreciate the tips on working the cranks- there definitely is an art to it. It looks like the spinner bait bite is finally starting to show- you had 2 big 'ol Spots halfway to the boat before they got the jump on you. Too bad they don't have Carp lips, eh? LOL

Anyone wanting to have a decent shot at catching a trophy out of Carters should book a trip with you- I know this sounds like a blatant testimonial- but it's the truth. As a hardcore fishing "finatic", (when the doc told me I'd never walk again, my first question was 'but will I be able to fish?') I've fished all over the US and Canada, with dozens of guides, and you're up there with the best of them, bud. You're an angler's guide- which is a rarity. I consider my trips an investment in my continuing development as a serious fisherman, and have learned a great deal from our time on the water. You've also never made a big deal over my disability, which I really appreciate. I only wish more folks had your willingness to just make things work.

I look forward to our next trip to Carters- it can't be soon enough for me!

Tight lines,
Bob Gearing
PS- I'm including a pic I found from one of our other trips-emoTongue

 

[JerDog]

Those sure are some nice fish. What kind of areas were you fishing? You must not have been too deep for the stripers to be hitting topwater. What are sort of patterns did you follow for stripers this time of year.

 

[Louie B]

JerDog - 4/7/2007 12:57 PM

Those sure are some nice fish. What kind of areas were you fishing? You must not have been too deep for the stripers to be hitting topwater. What are sort of patterns did you follow for stripers this time of year.

JerDog---

The areas I like to concentrate on this time of year on Carters 4 STRIPERS are DEEP POINTS & HUMPS close to a channel and or major creek mouths. The water we were fishing over was anywhere from 40ft all the way to 100ft of water, I TRIED TO GO UP SHALLOWER but there simply wasn't any stripers up there. We had a lot of rain Tuesday night before our trip and when that happens on Carters (and most deep clear lakes) the shad ball up in the mouth of feeder creeks off the main lake and the striper follow, so the fish were out deep w/ the BAIT. We hooked into a BIG STRIPER on the 3rd cast of the morning on TOPWATER, we were fishing over a hump located at the mouth of a major creek off the main lake, the hump had a high spot of 25ft of water. That is the fish Bob is speaking of that broke him off, it got us in a brush pile on top of that hump.

As far as patterns go for me there's no more exciting way to catch stripers than TOPWATER and it's a pretty reliable technique from now through early June. I also throw Bucktail Jigs and BIG Jerkbaits for Stripers on my trips.

I don't do U-Rigs or Pl-boards, I just don't like to do it, it's a great technique and will almost always produce but I don't like it. If I'm live bait fishing for stripers I like to get over them w/ my graph and drop shot BIG shad w/ light line, most people enjoy watching the fish on the graph, I know I do. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the kind words Bob, it's always a pleasure. Hope to do it again soon.

LB

 

[Triton4Bass]

emoThumbsup