November Fleeing

Bassmaster Elite Series pro Ott Defoe with pretty Pickwick bass
he caught during a TH Marine media event a couple of weeks ago.

Could it really be that November is on it's way out the door? It doesn't seem long ago that I was anticipating fall, and now the leaves are almost gone from the deciduous trees, even in Georgia. Of course, up north, they not only are walking on the ice to fish but a few resorts have begun rolling out the wheelhouses. Early for that sort of stuff, but it tells me that autumn has truly given way to winter.

November was a productive month for Jeff Samsel Fishing. I spent time on Tennessee's Dale Hollow, Illinois' Rend Lake and Alabama's Pickwick Lake, blending fishing with story and photo gathering with guides and pro anglers. I got to work with several pros I'd never spent significant time with before, along with seeing long-time friends from the industry.

I didn't spend as much time in trout streams as I would have liked to have during November, which is normally one of my favorite months for trout fishing. Maybe I can rectify that a bit next month. I certainly have some possible plans circling in my head. Whether weather, deadlines and other practical matters will actually allow those to materialize, only time will tell. My only solid fishing plans for next month, as of now, involve Minnesota ice, bluegills, crappie and walleyes.

Species 27 & 28

The sun hadn't fully broken the horizon on morning one of my recent Rend Lake trip when my species tally for 2014 grew. My first white crappie of the morning (one in photo is probably about the sixth or seventh) was species No. 27 for this year, according to my records. Not long after, I caught the first of several yellow bass, which was No. 28.

It's odd for me to add a white crappie so late in the year. That normally occurs early in the spring. It just happens that everywhere I've crappie fished this year, black crappie have been the main attraction.

Black crappie actually made the list really early this year. I caught my first one (actually my first several) in January, through the ice in Pennsylvania. I recorded five species from that trip to start this year's list, but I'm not really sure of the first-catch order. My first fish of this year was either a black crappie or a bluegill.

My next trip is to the Tennessee River in North Alabama. If we do any tailwater drifting, I could catch a freshwater drum or a buffalo, either of which would be add to the 2014 list. I think I've already caught most of the sport fish we'd be likely to encounter, but that's a diverse fishery, so you never know. Between that an early ice trip to Minnesota, it seems at least somewhat likely that I'll be able to bump the tally to 30 before the year ends and it becomes time to begin a new list.

Tiny Floats & Fussy Crappie

"Anytime fish get fussy. Like cold front conditions. Like we have today, in fact," Russ Bailey said, as he explained when a really small float can make a major difference. Sometimes the crappie want the bait just hanging there or barely moving, and the bites are so light that you never detect them with a traditional float. That's where Bailey's tiny pear-shaped floats come into play.

I asked if there was somewhere he could show me the presentation, even with the wind whipping pretty hard, so I could get photos and see it for myself. He said that was easy as he idled toward a nearby riprap bank and said that we'd probably catch some fish doing it.

That was an understatement.

Three anglers aboard, three float rigs and at times three fish hooked. Excepting when we paused for photos, at least one of us was virtually always setting a hook or landing a fish from the time we picked up Russ' signature B'nM Poles until the sun was gone from the sky.  I don't have any idea how many fish we caught in a short time and between photo sessions, but it was a bunch.

Making the fish bite and hooking them wasn't just a given, though. At least not at first, for me. Drawing strikes took a very understated presentation, jiggling the rod only enough to make the little float rock and maybe move just a bit and then leaving it suspended. And when the fish bit, they almost never took even those tiny floats all the way under. If the float move sideways an inch, changed angles or bobbed ever so slightly, you had to set the hook immediately.

I'm convinced we wouldn't have caught most of those fish swimming jigs over the same rocks or even float fishing with bigger floats. Russ' point was very well illustrated, and the lesson made for a fun afternoon on Rend Lake.

Draw of the Docks

I've just returned from Rend Lake Resort in Illinois, where I spent three fun and productive days catching crappie and taking photos with pros from B'n'M Poles. While I was there, I couldn't help but notice that there were ALWAYS anglers on every set of docks at the resort -- and that someone on any given dock usually had a fish on the line. They weren't big fish, necessarily, but everyone seemed to be catching their share. They were out there at first light, even it was 35 degrees outside, and they remained there when the sun went down.

Eventually I couldn't stand it.

Although I'd probably caught a 100 fish by the time we wrapped up our time on the water on day 3 and I had been out in boats fishing some of the lake's best spots with top pros, the allure of the simple dock fishing became more than I could resist. An hour or so before sunset on Day 3 I grabbed a B'n'M jig pole, tied a tandem rig with an Ugly Bug and a Road Runner Original Marabou, stuck a couple of spare lures in my sweatshirt pocket, and walked down to the dock behind my room.

It wasn't long before I was in on the catching game, and while my fish were no bigger than most others I'd seen, the basic dock fishing with a single pole in hand was every big as fun as it looked. I caught about 10 crappie before returning to my room, content and ready to begin packing my gear for the drive home.

Bugs Awaiting Making

A big part of me really wishes I'd brought my tying vice on this rip. Punisher Craft Hair has a tremendous amount of movement in the water, and I believe some of the colors I picked up on my trip will make really pretty and productive Ugly Bugs. I'm eager to put the new hair to work, at the vice and in the creek.

But then again, maybe it's just as well that the vice stayed home. I'm getting done writing that really needs to get done as I stage between the Dale Hollow and Rend Lake parts of my trip, and having the vice and all that pretty craft hair could create a serious distraction. Plus, when I do tote the vice, I only bring a sample of other materials, and if I got to tying, I'd probably find myself wishing I had a certain color of feather or package of dubbing for the bug I found myself wanting to make.

Doesn't matter. Vice isn't here. I can only envision now and go to work on new Ugly Bugs once I'm home again.

Dale Hollow Smallmouths, Tailwater Trout & Rend Lake Crappie

When I have to dig into the slide files for a
picture, like this one of Stephen Headrick of
at Dale Hollow,I know it's been a while since
I've been somewhere!

I've spent some days on the legendary waters of Dale Hollow, but given the fact that my photos from there are all slides, I'd say it has been way too long. I'll fix that very soon. On Sunday evening I'm driving to Dale Hollow Marina to spend a couple of days with friends from Punisher Lures. I'm looking forward to returning to one of the most beautiful lakes I've ever fished and hopefully the getting the opportunity to lock horns with some jumbo smallmouths.

After I leave Dale Hollow, my plans for a couple of days remain a little up in the air, but I'm certain I'll be fishing, and it will probably be in Tennessee. Most likely plan for at least part of the time is to explore the tailwaters of Dale Hollow and Center Hill. Both rivers are very close to where I'll already be, and in recent years the latter has developed into one of the South's finest trout fisheries.

Final stop of my next round of travels will be in Southern Illinois, at Rend Lake, where crappie will be the main attraction. Best I can recall, I've never caught a fish in Illinois, so assuming some success, I can add that to my state list. I also haven't caught a white crappie yet in 2014, so maybe I can add at least one species to this year's list. With two months remaining, my current species tally stands at 26.

Uncertain internet and computer time sometimes makes blogging a challenge, but I'll do my best to keep updates and notes about cool stuff I learn posted here, on my facebook page and on Instagram and Twitter, so keep a look out! If you haven't followed me in any of those places, I'd appreciate you checking out what I share and maybe adding a follow or page like!

Today is one of those "get ready" days. Clearing memory cards, charging batteries, gathering clothes and fishing junk, taking care of things at home... Suppose I'd better get to doing stuff!