Nice Day On Lake Virginia 1/16/17

Launched the boat at 0815 , the water is 65 deg. and calm as can be . As the boat settles down on plain , the air is chilly as it rushes up my short sleeves but it`s not long before I reach my first spot. Out of the rod locker I grab two rods a crankbait and my favorite a Fluke . First off I start with a Sq. bill 1.5 as I inspect it I see the wear and tear and abuse the little guy has endured, the bill has cracks , nicks and the finish is wearing off . But I can`t retire it yet it still catches fish , I am sure all of us have a couple of these in our tackle box . I am in 9ft. of water and cranking away with each cast I need to clean grass off before I recast . The water here is semi clear I can see the tops of the ell grass and this bait is just nicking it "perfect" I make random casts 180 deg. around the boat trying to fine the honey hole. After 30 min. of mowing the grass I decide to move across to the other side and fish close to the shore line. I am thinking since the sun is so bright and the water is so calm and clear the fish are holding down deep , so it`s time to make a change . So out comes the Fluke !! The boat is now in 7 ft. of water I make my first cast to the outer edge of the pads and slowly work it back to the boat , "no takers" , I continue casting as the boat moves down the shore line. I spot a isolated patch of grass just about one foot under the water and its within my casting range , the lure lands a little past and to the right side . I let it sink then twitch-twitch let it sink twitch ah oh I see my line move I take up the slack and BINGO he`s on , he makes a bee-line for deeper water , jumps out of the water , I hurry and take up the slack and manage to keep him down as he comes next to the boat I swing him into boat . First fish of the day, he`s not a monster but a solid 13/4- 2 lb. young buck. Well I am now feeling confident "I got them figured out now" but you know how that goes "sure I do " I spend the next hour and a half and two moves without a nibble



OK I am getting desperate now ,so up comes the trolling motor and off to my " GO TO SPOT " I always use the fluke here . First cast no dice second cast still no takers third cast BINGO a good one I am grinning so hard it hurts . I get him into the boat it`s over 2 lb. , I don`t know what it is about this spot but it holds fish and 90% of the time I catch fish here. But I have to be careful the Land owner thinks he owns the water and tells me to leave his fish alone ,I think he has some mental issues from the war VN so I tread easy with him !!!



OK now I leave and head for Lake Virginia . When I arrive I notice a lot of boat traffic ,ski boats , ski jets and fishing boats I am wondering what`s going on , then it hits me it`s MLK day "O WELL make the best of it" I stop the boat in 10 ft. of water , by now the sun is really high and bright with a little chop on the water , so I elect to use something that will run deeper, I am thinking Raddle Trap . I have used the 2.5 KVD Strike King here before without success so I pullout a old one that I have had for 12 or more years I forget the name of it, it is flat sided it`s nose comes to a point like a arrow head it is dark to light gray color with flashy pearl sides, I am talking OLD TIME but what the heck I am OLD TOO . Each year I say I am going to clean out all the old lures but I can`t seen to do it, I`ll pick each one up look at ------- and say well I could still use this one that one , this one isn`t in bad shape [You know how it is ] and at the end of the day maybe retire two or three. Ok I make my first cast with this old Baby it fly`s out there a country mile " this is great" as I am reeling I feel it cutting through the grass as if it was a lawnmower, just what it`s supposed to !! Second cast I feel thump I am thinking it hit a clump of grass , but this clump is now wagging my rod tip . I keep reeling and sure enough it`s a clump of GRASS but wait what`s that inside of it , well I`ll be a little Bass .



This guy must have been hungry he has the whole bait in his mouth , after a little workout with the plyers over the side he goes. The boat traffic here is something else [ski boat, tour boats] I am sitting on my perch with each leg spread one on starboard the other on port side , the bow is bobbing up and down and every once in a while it takes a dip . I make another cast and BINGO fish on ,it`s not a big one but it gets the old heart a pumping. Maybe six casts later another one hits it, that makes three fish in 30 min. I am so glad I didn`t retire this lure . I worked this area for 30-45 min. without a hit so I moved to a quiet part of the lake. I used the Raddle Trap here but the water was full of grass, then I switched back to the Fluke spent the next hour tossing it but no takers , so now I am thinking where do I want to go next as I am working the bait to the boat one hits it 20 ft. from the boat and its a big one ,Its coming straight up with it`s mouth wide open, it try's to jump out of the water but only gets halfway out " thank goodness for that" I can see she is big it takes a dive as it swims toward me I am trying to keep a tight line ,I don`t want this baby getting off, she puts a good bend in my rod and circles around under the boat. I get her up and coming to me , I drop down to the center of the boat reach down but she wont open her mouth ," come on baby open your mouth " I yell ,just when she is within reach the mouth comes open in goes my thumb I yell out " YES- YES " I am so happy this one made my day !!!! I put her in the live well so I could get a good picture of her back at the ramp .



She is 20 inches long 4.5lbs needless to say this was the highlight of the day but what happen after this was icing on the cake. It was getting late so I headed back to the ramp to call it a day however on the way I had to past by my GO to SPOT and you guessed it , one more cast . As the boat settled down I jumped up on the front deck grabbed my rod shot it out there two times BINGO ,got another one off this spot, 2 1/2 lb . I think I am going to rename this spot " MY 10 MIN. SPOT" . WHAT A WAY TO END MY DAY. Finished the day with 7 in the boat , Yes sir it was "A NICE DAY ON LAKE VIRGINIA"