Dream Day at Albert’s

Our club compo was changed to Albert Falls at short notice but as luck would have it I fished it last week on a fun day out with Howie… and things had changed at the dam considerably with spots and lure wise. Now a tip… watch what the more successful anglers do and how they do it… we had the privilege of fishing next to two boats last weekend… Martin de Kock in one boat and Kelvin and Ryan Swart in the other… they were really friendly and invited us in close for a fun days fishing…

Louis arrived spot on time as always at 5:00am and we were off at 5:03am… as always a stop at the Wild Bean Garage for coffee and ice… we arrived at the gate at 06:00am and of course the gate wasn’t open on time… but not long after the gate opened and the small queue of cars and boat were through and on their way to the slip-weigh… no checking of skippers licences etc… speed was of the essence which I appreciated… by the time I get to the gate I’m like a kid on a sugar high… I try and stay calm but I get so excited and amped.

Boats to the ready and tackle on the deck and some quick chats with other club members and it was 6:45 and time to head for our number one spot at the highest possible speed…

There is nothing quite like a calm dam in the early morning!

Now apologies for the lack of photo’s once the fishing started… when fishing a compo the mode is fishing mode and not stop and take pics mode…

Mission accomplished… we got to the river first… a bit more relaxed… the sun is up and the mist is clearing… looks like it’s going to be a good day weather-wise… let’s hope the fishing is as good…

The river looks very inviting and the excitement level now is at full peak…

In practice I had had 5 huge busts on a popper so popper is what we both started with but there wasn’t so much as a ripple… around the corner we go to our premier spot and I put down the popper and pick up my 7’6” Carrot Stick with Hyper-Tuned Core (thanks Mike it rocks), 15lb Seaguar fluro, Football Jig with a Big Bites Bait Flying Squirrel and send it flying… Mmmmm soft bite? Yes it is… Bam…all hell breaks loose… she breaks the surface for a big head shake and Louis drops his rod and grabs the net! This is a good fish… actually it’s not a good fish… it’s a great fish! I got her to the side and Louis scooped her on the first run… some Mike Iaconelli antics from both Louis and myself ensue…

By now two other boats were close by and watching the antics… and I have to say the club members can take a bow for the impeccable manners and fishing etiquette shown… normally during a compo rude people encroach all the time especially when a pig has been landed and the agro level goes way up… at no time did any of the other club members encroach ever!

She went into the live well with speed (2,66kg’s) and the jig was flying through the air again in no time! Louis now grabbed his jig rod and sent it the flying squirrel in to do its job… he got stuck in the rocks right away and some choice words followed… and while he was fighting with the rocks I got a not so soft bite and landed my second fish… 1,35kg’s. By now Louis had snapped off and was retying… get the net… I was landing them thick and fast…

The fish were looking a little off colour in the live well so I weighed in the 2,66 and 1,35… Louis said not to weigh in the 1,35 but I didn’t listen… that decision came back to bite me later when I was throwing one and a half kg bass back overboard later. OH yes in the excitement we forgot to take pictures… we were both in compo mode… what a goose!

The fishing slowed and we both got a chance to catch our breath and get a drink and some breakfast… Louis’s wife Michelle made us awesome Begets with beef, gammon, mustard, tomato and chees! Yum Yum… especially for me who hasn’t touched a carb in a week…

Breakfast over and time to change it up again… plastics were next but didn’t produce except for a nice fish for Louis on a Big Bite Baits Fighting Frog. Now for those of you that know me know I am not a crank fan (I do use lipless but you crank fanatics won’t let me classify a lipless as a real crank) and I picked up my crank rod with a DLN and sent it in to do some work… well the madness started again right away… we both had our 5 fish bag by 08:00… we were over the moon and started to relax and enjoy the day with much reduced pressure… The weather was absolutely perfect all day and the wind never grew to more than a slight breeze… in fact most of the day the wind didn’t blow at all…

I was experimenting with crank retrieves and on my very slow retrieve the crank just stopped dead and line started to peel! This was another decent fish and the “Heeeelp my” call went out and Louis was there with the net and moral support! Now one of the reasons I am not a crank fan is because so many fish seem to be able to throw the crank and I hate that… but I never lost one fish on crank all day! A nice boxing match with the bass and she was within netting distance… boom! A beauty of 2,64kg’s! And this time we took a picture!

We spent 4 hours in the river and it was the best 4 hours I have spent on the water in a very long time… Amped and excited doesn’t do justice to the feeling… both our thumbs were raw and much fun was had comparing wounds and the amount of blood loss we had had!

Next stop was the Ridge where was have had good results in our last three outings… sure enough as we move slowly over our number one spot we both get hit on our jigs… both cullers and two river fish went overboard. The fishing now slowed and we did some running and gunning… more to get a breeze and to say hello to other club members and try and if anyone else had had a day like us… we got the odd fish here and there and Louis managed to cull two of his smaller fish…

Weigh in time (15:00) came and I weighed in my last two fish (I had already weighed in the third fish (2,64) and the last two beauties weighed a respectable 3,3kg’s.

A new record for me for fishing a compo… I weighed in 9,95kg’s for first place by a large margin! I have to say it’s a great feeling… now I need to repeat this at a BETT!!!!!

Weigh in over the braai was fired up and the stories of the day told along with an awesome boerie roll and beer!

Two tired but happy fisherman headed home! What a stunning day!

With the majority of the bass baits we use being made abroad, the tendency understandably is that these are made to imitate bait fish prolific in those waters. So when recently I saw a picture of a Jackall Clone Gill on the Bass Warehouse website, it looked good, then curiosity got the better of me and I took a closer look….

Tilapia, bream or kurper must be one of the most prolific fodder fish for bass in Southern Africa. Several species occur in South Africa and are found in the many fine waters we fish. A favoured pan fish, I figured bream would be specifically prone to predation by bass at two main times…
When the bream are and have spawned in the shallows. I am sure many of us have seen the moon type landscape along our dams shore lines.

When they attempt to raid spawning bass nests.
Taking into consideration that the clone gill is a “bed” specific bait, I took my investigation a little further. I was eager to see just how close the clone was to some of our Tilapia/Kurper species

Ghost Blue gill vs Vlei Kurper

Threadfin Shad vs Dwarf Kurper
Bottom line is that it must pay if you can accurately match the food source with a bait pattern. The above images prove that there is huge potential for this bait to produce sizable results. I am going to be keen to drop one of these baits before Mr. Bass. If after this you are, then log on to this “Bass warehouse” page and be sure to grab a packet or six….for those exciting upcoming spring months.

Posted by The Bassing Guy at 10:08 AM

Jackall Clone Gill

One of the deadliest bed baits to ever hit the market, the Jackall Clone Gill measures in at a small 2.5″ nest-raiding size. Sure to infuriate bedding bass, it features incredibly realistic finishes, including anatomically correct, protruding fins and a life-like tail action in the water. Nose it along beds on a round jig head or drop shot, the Jackall Clone Gill is a bite-size bait that can catch huge bass.

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Mop Jig
 

The heavy living rubber skirt creates a large “mop” like profile underwater, attracting additional attention from hungry or defensive bass. All Buckeye Football Mop Jigs also come with a chip-resistant powder-coated, gold hybrid head, a healthy weed guard, as well as, a bait keeper for securing your favorite trailer.

Hand tied heavy living rubber. All Mop Jigs come with Double Rattles and a Mustad Flippin Hook.

USA Invasion Tour

It’s less than 10 days away. Fred Roumbanis and Derek Remitz are coming. They will happily share of their time with you. We have arranged a meet and greet and will make sure that commemorative Shirts and Caps are on hand for signature by the Pro’s too.

KZN

Saturday
10 December 2011
Venue – Bass Warehouse in Heritage Market
http://www.basswarehouse.co.za/
From 08H00 until 11H00

The Wacky Jig Head technique, which Jackall calls “Flick Shakin”, will be the next finesse technique in the United States. “Flick Shakin” is already a proven technique in Japan. Flick Shaking is already being more widely used than Drop Shotting in Japan. Jackall is the innovator of the Wacky Jig Head technique in Japan and has been instrumental in the design and development of the FlickShake. Jackall has developed a specific Jig Head and Flick Shake worm, which works together as a system. The Flick Shake worm has a built in curved design, which creates a squirming action that the fish cannot resist. The Flick Shake worm is also salt injected and has a live bait scent. The jig heads eye is designed at a ninety-degree angle for better hook setting and less snags. The hook has a short shank to allow the FlickShake worm more action. The tungsten weight allows the worm to sink faster and has a smaller head to create the right action

 Wacky Jig Head and Flick Shake worm creates squirming action

Picture of Flick Shake worm and shown rigged wacky style. Hook should be rigged at 90-degree angle wacky style.

Flick Shake is perfect for drop shot and shaky head technique.

Bass Warehouse Hot Deals

Strike King Pro Model Series 3 CrankbaitsThe Strike Series 3 Crankbait is a small bodied deep diver and is designed to be very castable, to search maximum depths. This is one of Strike King’s most popular crankbaits

Strike King Pro Model Series 4s CrankbaitStrike King Series 4s runs a foot shallower the the Series 1 and has a unique wide wobble action that drives fish crazy. This crank is excellent for fishing in and around heavy cover especially in stained water where most anglers like to throw spinnerbaits. The Series will often allow you to catch big fish right behind the guy throwing a blade.

Strike King Pro Model Series 4 crankbaitsThe Strike King Series 4 Crankbait is s medium-sized body with a wider wobble & an oversized bill to deflect off cover. Great for Mid-depth, heavy cover applications and dirty water.

 Strike King Pro Model Series 5 CrankbaitThe Strike King Series 5 Crankbait is a medium sized body with a medium wobble and medium buoyancy The Series 5 has a 2 degree diving plane to allow for lengthened casts and deeper depths. The “Go-To” crankbait for many Touring Pro’s