One Cast & Out

Home from college for a few days, I couldn't wait to go catch some bass, so I grabbed my baitcasting outfit (I only owned one at the time) and my tackle box, hopped in my car and drove 45 minutes to a county park where I typically enjoyed good success fishing from the shore.

Eager to get thing started, I parked near a favorite spot, scurried down to the bank and reached back for a long cast. In my haste, though, I failed to check behind me, and on my back swing the lure's hooks firmly grabbed tree limb. When I tried to let my cast rip, the line exploded into the biggest bird's nest I have ever made. (That remains true 20 years later.)

I plopped down on the bank and picked fruitlessly at the backlash for what was probably close to an hour before finally having to acknowledge that the only way to get this one out was with a pocketknife. Having no other rod and reel and no extra spool of line with me, all I could do was get in the car and go back home.

My best guess would be that I was back again the next day and that I probably even caught a few fish. If so, though, the details have escaped me. My "one cast & out" fishing day I will always remember.

Crappie Masters Winners

As expected, the Crappie Masters pros brought a parade of Alabama River slabs to the tournament scales over the weekend. The team of Whitey Outlaw and Mike Parrott took top honors in the Alabama State Championship with a two-day weight of 30 pounds, 12 ounces. The daily limit for Crappie Masters is seven fish, so that is an average weight of more than 2 pounds per fish for two days. Big fish honors went to the team of James Clark and Tracy Purdy, who brought a 2.81-pound slab to the scales. Next stop for the Crappie Masters is Conway Lake in Arkansas, where they will conduct an "Ultimate Challenge" event. In this event, anglers will be allowed to fish with only one pole at a time, and only artificial lures may be used.

Alabama River Slabs

I now know where the real slabs live. Heavyweight crappie abound in the Alabama River, at Millbrook, Ala., where the Crappie Masters tournament trail begins the Alabama State Championship tomorrow. This amazingly productive fishery that's just outside of Montgomery has somehow flown under the radar for quite a few years, but that might not last long.

A year ago, the same event produced an all-time Crappie Masters weight record for a two-day catch, and the number of 2-pound-plus fish that have been caught in practice this year suggest that the record could fall again. Despite less than ideal conditions, with the river flooded, I've watched a parade of big fish over the past couple of days.

I fished with four teams during practice, and they were all on some big fish! It'll be fun to see what happens. One hint: Keep an eye on the guys who are "pushing" Road Runners.

Young Anglers' Delight

Sorry, Dads, you only get to watch when your children fish Arkansas' Dry Run Creek. That said, I can attest from first-hand experience that watching avid young anglers ply a pretty little stream that's absolutely loaded with trout is a mighty fun way to spend a morning.

Lawrence Taylor of Rebel Lures and I recently enjoyed a morning of watching his 6-year-old son Hunter and my 11-year-old son Nathaniel work the banks of Dry Run, which flows beside the Norfork Federal Fish Hatchery just below Norfork Dam. I'm not sure how many fish they ended up landing, but I do know their rods did a lot of bending, and that from the edges of most pools we could gaze at dozens of trout.

Nathaniel also hooked, fought and landed his biggest trout ever - a thick-bodied, bright-colored, hook-jawed male rainbow that probably weighed 7 or 8 pounds. He was on the other side of the creek from us when he hooked the fish, so he had to land it on his own with a net that was really too small for the task.

The top-producing lure for the boys was a Rebel Teeny Deep Wee Craw, with the trebles removed and replaced with a single Daiichi Octopus-style hook.
Next most productive was a Rebel Tracdown Minnow with the same modification.

Dry Run Creek is open to fishing only to anglers who are 16 and under or fully disabled. Only barbless, single-hook artificial lures may be used, and all fish must be immediately released.

Twitch of the Day

Somewhere along the way I realized that Nathaniel and I had both changed our cadences, and that we were using almost exactly the same presentation to catch White River rainbow trout. Apparently, it as the right combination of twitches and pauses, because the trout were finding their way to the boat pretty steadily.

We were both throwing XCalibur Xt3 Twitch Baits, as we had more often than not for two days. I normally fish Twitch Baits with series of two or three fairly deliberate jerks, with pauses of at least a few seconds between pauses, and I had shown Nathaniel the same basic presentation. I also believe in letting the fish dictate what they want, though, so I always experiment as I go, and I try to pay attention to what draws the most strikes.

Yesterday's patterning wasn't deliberate. I had just sort of changed to a much faster presentation, using several small quick twitches in each series and pauses that were only long enough to take up line and reload the rod for more twitches. I think I just sped up out of excitement when the fish started really hitting, and the faster I worked the bait the more strikes it prompted. And I'm guessing Nathaniel did the same thing, because we never talked about speeding up or making changes.

However the transition occurred, it reminded me of the importance of never getting too stubborn with presentations. It also resulted in a really fun afternoon of fishing on the White River. In the morning we had drifted with bait, a technique I had never used for trout, and caught a couple of nice brown trout.

The combination made for a great day of fishing with guide Paul Jones, who has guided on the White River for more than four decades. To learn more about the wonderful, trout-filled White River, visit Gaston's White River Resort.

Arrived

Nathaniel and I managed the drive from Georgia, got settled in, visited with friends and enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the Gaston's restaurant. Nathaniel made a few token casts from the shore - just to get it out of his system. My license starts tomorrow, so I'll start fresh in the morning. Nathaniel would have fished a little tonight, but the rain that arrived during dinner suggested otherwise.

Geared Up for Gaston's

Essentials are ready. No all that's between me and a big brown trout is a day on road. Alarm is set for 3:00 a.m. Gaston's, I'm on my way.

Check It Out

You may have read about Nathaniel, my 11-year-old son, on my blog or seen pictures of him to go with posts. Being an avid fisherman with an ever-growing base of outdoors experiences, Nathaniel decided to start and outdoors blog of his own. Nathaniel Samsel Outdoors will track his fishing travels and close-to-home trips as well, along with passing along some of the things he learns from other fisherman along the way. We leave Monday for Arkansas, so chances are good that his next post will include at least one photo of a White River trout.

Almost...

Well, it's March now, and we still don't have any daffodils quite open in my yard - although a few are mighty close! I know Northland folks who are still driving across their lakes won't sympathize much, but our first daffodils normally come out in early February (sometimes sooner!), and by this time I usually can count dozens of flowers in the yard. I was in Kentucky over the weekend, and all the mountains between here and there still have lots of snow on them. And we're supposed to get another round of white stuff tomorrow.

I'm not complaining. The seasons will change soon enough, and next thing you know it we'll all be looking for shady spots. I just find it interesting, and I'm curious how "behind" all the fishing seasons will be this spring.

Of course my next stop is the White River in Arkansas, and it's a tailwater flow that's more affected by water flows than by air temperatures. My guess is that we will have lots of water, and that's good for throwing jerkbaits for big brown trout!