Bass Between the Storms

As appeared would be the case when I posted previously, my most recent round of fishing travels hit heavy storms square in the nose. Crashing rain, intense thunderstorms, flood warnings, muddy water and powerful winds were all part of the equation. However, through a willingness to adapt and work hard by a couple of great pros, I still managed to get in some excellent bass fishing and photo time between rounds of storms.

Eric Porterfield somehow found a place and a pattern when all the waters in his part of Oklahoma were several feet above full pool and the color of chocolate milk, and we caught a surprising number of good fish and got great work done. Pete Ponds saw the next round of bad weather was charging hard toward Mississippi and rearranged his schedule to bump things up a day at the last minute and even got out ahead of me to get started figuring out the fish. While you'd never know it by the photo above, when we got off the water (at about the same time I was originally supposed to arrive), heavy rain was coming in sideways and the distant thunder was quickly becoming less distant.

It was a full week with a lot of scrambling and figuring, but it was also mighty fun and produced some outstanding opportunities to shoot photos for Norman Lures and Bandit Lures. Big thanks to Eric and Pete.

Here, There & Everywhere

It's sort of like a fishing/photo tour. Between Wednesday and Friday of next week, I'll spend time on the water in at least four (maybe five or six states). The difference is that there's no real flow to the path. Instead of a tour, so to speak, it's a series of quick-turn around trips in different direction.

Tomorrow night or Wednesday morning, I' drive north toward Center Hill Lake in Tennessee to do a quick photo shoot for Bandit Lures with legendary guide Jim Duckworth. Depending on when I go, what I get done between now and then and water conditions, I might do other fishing in Georgia or North Carolina along the way, which is where states five and six could come into play.

I'll be home by Thursday evening and on Friday I drive to Atlanta to fly to Arkansas to spend a couple of days bass fishing and shooting Norman Lures photos in Oklahoma with Eric Porterfield and a day in Arkansas with Chad Warner.

I fly home from Arkansas next Tuesday and leave the next day for Mississippi to spend a couple of days fishing and doing Bandit photo work with Pete Ponds.

That's a lot of running in a different directions for nine days, but I expect there will be some good fishing action mixed in, and I have no doubt I'll gather loads of fine material because all the guys I'm fishing with are great at what they do.

I suppose I'd better start going on stuff around here so I'll be ready to go when I need to later this week!

Footloose Fun

"Be ready at the end of each pump," Pete Ponds told me. "That's when they're hitting it."

The words had barely escaped his mouth when a bass proved him right by walloping my Footloose crankbait just as I finished a rod pump and began reeling to take up line. I leaned into the fish just enough to set the hook and realized quickly that it was a pretty chunky largemouth.

I'd been catching some bass, but Pete had been spanking them on the Footloose, a small Bandit crankbait that swims barely beneath the surface and that I'd never fished. It looked too fun to not try, so he's rigged me one as well.

Some anglers fish a Footloose extra slow so it stays on top, as a wakebait. Others crank it quickly and steadily to draw reaction strikes. Pete works it with sideways pumps so it swims just beneath the surface and hesitates and pops up slightly each time he reels to take up line. That's when the fish most often strike, and that certainly was the case when we fished together.

I couldn't tell you how many bass we caught on the Footloose. I just know it was a bunch and that we had a bundle of fun. I also know that I've discovered a new tool for when the bass are shallow and aggressive but won't quite commit to a topwater lure.

Video Channel Growing

The YouTube Channel that Nathaniel set up a couple of months ago is gradually growing in content. Thirteen videos now posted include what I think is a quite a bit of practical information. He typically adds one or two videos per week.

Most of the videos are tips from pro anglers, including bass pros and crappie pros, but there is also a bit of trout stream material and some redfishing action from Louisiana in the mix. I leave for Minnesota tomorrow, so soon we'll have ice videos as well. Next stop after Minnesota is Oklahoma, where I'll be spooning for a mix of species.

Video view numbers are growing gradually as well, with a little more than 500 views as of this morning. A crappie fishing video with Ronnie Capps on Reelfoot Lake has gotten the most views so far. Our most recent video, which includes great tips for fishing extra shallow by Bassmaster pro Pete Ponds, is a good example of the type of content you can find on the channel.

Pro Lessons on Fall Fishing

Phone access is iffy, even from outside, and it's chilly, so I'm going to make this short, but I had to take a moment to report a great day of gathering fishing tips and photos with Marty Stone and Pete Ponds.  Practical help just flows from some pros, and both Marty and Pete do a great job of breaking down just what they do. Both pros also gave me really good video tips, so watch for those on the YouTube channel.