Wettin' A Line

Updates on fishing all over the Midwest and beyond!

[wettinaline]

It's almost time!

The 2015 fishing season is about to kick off this Sunday! Needless to say, I'm pretty excited! It's been a verrrry long and cold winter in Indiana this year but I was able to get some practice in last weekend at Old Hickory Lake in Tennessee. It was a pretty cool lake and made me fish like I never really have before. Water was rushing at a pretty good pace so you really had to lead your lure where you wanted it to go. Also had to dodge a few of the many barges that travel it's waters. I'll update more about that trip and this weekend's tournament coming up this next week. I promise to stay more on top of the writing this year and go a lot more in depth on what techniques and lures I used so that maybe it can give some ideas for new anglers out there. So stay tuned! Tight Lines!

[wettinaline]

End of 2014...Now on to 2015

Well winter has finally made it to Indiana.  Snow fell for the first official time in winter last night and temps are getting into the single digits and teens.  Hardly the type of weather anyone would want to be out fishing in unless the ice was thick enough!   Just wanted to give some quick updates on how my 2014 fishing season ended.

We stuck around home for most of the rest of the season fishing Rockville Lake and were supposed to fish Raccoon Lake again but because of a larger tournament going on we actually turned around and fished Rockville lake again.  Not much was to be said for those last two tournaments.  It was the typical Rockville Lake experience.  Caught a ton of fish but not a one was a single keeper.

Back when it was warmer!

Morning take-off

Big hornet's nest I almost ran into!

I did get a few other times fishing in before it was too cold.  Only really caught 1-2 would be "keepers".  It seemed that the fish were done for the season and just didn't want to be caught anymore.

Last keeper of 2014

Annnd one I thought was a keeper...stick fooled me

I ended up in 7th place for my club this year.  Not what I was hoping for, but I missed a lot of tournaments.  Nine to be exact this year, so I guess I can't complain too much!  It's hard to keep up with the rest of the members when you can't fish them all.  It was still better than the 9th place I got last year.  Hopefully this year I can have a little better attendance.  

I did get get to take the Hobie out a few more times before the cold snap.  Took my son, Connor on a couple of rides as well.

Connor on a kayak ride

Speaking of Hobie and the kayak, I kind of have some bad news on that.  Unfortunately, Portside Marine has decided not to carry the Hobie line of kayaks any more.  I have fished for Portside out of their Hobies for the past two years and have had an absolute blast!  I have never met nicer people than the ones that worked there.  I learned so much just from fishing from a Hobie that you could say I pretty much fell in love with that style of fishing and got pretty good at it if I do say so myself.

Hobie, without a doubt, still makes one of the best kayaks on the market and I will miss that kayak a lot.  I would recommend them to anyone, anytime.  I want to thank Portside Marine again for giving me the opportunity to learn the sport of kayak fishing.  I made a ton of friends just from that alone.  Hopefully I can find another kayak or save up to get my own Hobie someday...who knows.  

One things for sure, I'm ready to get back on the water again!  I'm starting to get that winter fishing itch pretty bad and I still have a LONG way to go!  Until next time...tight lines and I'll see you on the water soon!

[wettinaline]

Year End...almost

The second I get a free minute I'm going to be posting about how 2014 ended and what's coming up for next year. Hang tight, it's coming soon!

[wettinaline]

Chilly up here with the birds this a.m.

[wettinaline]

I reaaaalllly want to try this now!

[wettinaline]

Oh Boy!

I have some pretty awesome news to drop later this week (or weekend).  No, not another baby on the way or anything like that.  It's fishing related...stay tuned! :-) 

[wettinaline]

A very Happy 1st Birthday goes out to my son Connor! Daddy loves you buddy!

[wettinaline]

Can't believe my little man is going to be 1 year old next week!

[wettinaline]

My wife sent me this today. Being a lifelong Steelers fan, it makes me happy seeing one of my all time favorite players, Brett Keisel, taking time to take kids fishing. Even if you root for another team it's awesome seeing "stars" giving back to the community.

[wettinaline]

Dads and a Legacy

I hit the water today, in my Hobie kayak, to battle the massive pleasure boats out on Heritage Lake.  I felt like a bobber most of the day and most of the time I had to stay seated hugging the banks.  Not a whole lot of fishing got done as I was zig-zagging up and over wave after wave.  The Hobie ProAngler handles waves nicely so I wasn't too concerned.  As I was peddling around the lake I did get to do a lot of thinking, which is another reason I love to go fishing.  Time to clear my thoughts from a week of work and the general meat grinder of running around from place to place.

Today is Fathers Day Eve, so of course, my thoughts went to dads and being a dad.  If you haven't read any of my previous posts, last July I had the awesome (and scary) opportunity to become a father myself to a little boy my wife and I named Connor.

Connor's first kayak ride

Before he was born I found myself thinking quite frequently as I was fishing in tournaments, who he'd grow up to be and what he would like to do.  Would he be smart?  Would he love fishing like I did?  Would he play sports?  Thousands and thousands of things would pour into my mind.

I came from a VERY long line of fishermen in my family.  As far back as I can remember almost everyone in my entire family loved to fish.  Great grandpas, Grandpaws, my father, all of my uncles and brother and cousins.  You ask any of the guys in my family to go fishing, they'd probably drop what they're doing and go.  No matter what profession any of them have held over the years, they still fished.

My dad and grandpa (Papaw)

I've checked with most of the guys in my bass club, at least the ones that have kids, and almost none of their kids enjoy fishing like they do.  Most say fishing didn't hold their attention long enough and they just never went back.  Guess I was lucky that I had Great Grandparents who bought land with a lake on it, and taught my grandfather how to fish.  Who in turn, taught my Dad how to fish, who then taught me how to fish.

I remember like yesterday pond hopping with my dad around Clay County Indiana.  He always seemed to know someone who gave us permission to fish their little backwoods ponds and strip pits.  Dad would always tell me that we were going to a "secret pond" and told me strictly to not tell anyone where we were going, or the fish wouldn't bite.  Looking back, I think I always ended up telling someone where we went.  I remember my first fishing pole, a Snoopy (from Peanuts - if you're young Google it) pole.  It was a tiny push button reel that had a rubber weight on the end of it.  No hooks, just literally a chunk of rubber shaped like a pyramid weight.

I tried and tried to catch fish like my dad.  Every time I felt something on that pole, I would "set the hook" like there was a monster on the other end.  Probably was just hitting sticks or rocks but I would swear that I had one on the line and it had just gotten off at the boat or bank.  Dad probably laughed his butt off every time.

As I got a little older I actually got to use lures with hooks when Dad thought I was ready.  I used to get hung up on sunken logs and limbs all the time.  I used to worry that Dad would be mad that I was stuck because he would have to stop fishing and tell me how to get it unstuck.  He never did get mad because he knew I was learning how to fish.  Indirectly he was teaching me how to throw a lure and how to make it do what I wanted...aka fishing.  He knew all the tricks of the trade and slowly passed it on to me.  Little things that I hope one day he and I can pass on to my son.

See, the thing is, it's not just about fishing only.  It's about passing a legacy on to each generation.  Teaching them something they can use and go on to teach their children someday.  I think that is the biggest pressure any dad can feel in their lives.  What can I do and teach my child that they can remember me by and pass on themselves?  Passing a family name on is big, yes, but passing on a skill or trade can sometimes be bigger.  

I hope my son wants to learn how to fish, if he doesn't, then no big deal.  I'll try to teach him something else.  Thank you to all dads who take time to take their kids fishing (my dad and grandpa included).  It may not seem like it at the time but those are some of the memories they will remember the most, even the bad trips.  Something in those trips will always be in their mind.  I know some of my best memories growing up were with my dad and grandpa fishing.  It also gets me anxious for my next trip with them.  I can't wait until Connor is old enough to take on his first fishing trip.  Hopefully, one of those memories will be made and that I have the teaching skill like my father and grandfather have.  Looks like he's already on his way.

Dad, lets go fishin'!!! 

I love everyone in my family very much, especially my Grandpa, Dad and son on this Fathers Day.  Thanks to all for what you do passing on your legacies. 

[wettinaline]

Part 3 of 3 -- May Day

Sunday, May 4th

May and warmer weather finally has arrived in Indiana!  The Parke County Bassmasters headed out again to Glenn Flint Lake in Indiana.  This lake is the one that everyone in our club dreads going to.  Hardly anyone catches anything every time we go.  It is one of those type of lakes where when you get on it, it looks like every single part of the lake would have tons of fish just stacked up everywhere on it.  There's fallen timber, rocks, sand, stumps, grass/weed beds, you name it, Glenn Flint has it.  It is known for being a panfish lake (crappie, bluegill, etc.) and is VERY heavily pressured throughout the year.  Add big pleasure boaters to the mix and things can get dicey as far as fishing goes.

Glenn Flint Lake

My brother and cousin had our boat down in Dale Hollow, TN this weekend so I had to be a co-boater with a guy in our club, Brian.  Brian and I headed out to the north end of the lake dodging stumps and other floating debris the whole way.  Fishing for over a hour without even a nibble we figured we were in trouble for the day.  Like most tournaments, it seems like if you don't catch fish within the first couple of hours you're probably not going to catch anything the rest of the day.  

About 3 hours in, I landed my first fish throwing a chartreuse and black back squarebill bouncing it off some stumps we couldn't see.

Chartreuse and Black Back KVD 1.5 Squarebill 

Of course, it was 13 7/8" long...not a keeper, but at least it was a fish!  We decided to leave the barren wasteland we were in and went to try out some rocks to see if maybe they held some fish.

After arriving at the rock banks I decided to pick up the red shad worm again and give it a try, if it worked at Rockville I figured it would work just as well here.  The red shad worm is Brian's favorite go-to bait so he was throwing the same thing.  My second cast with it I felt my line go slack when it should have felt heavy so I set the hook as quick as I could.  I had something and it felt like it had some weight to it.  I figured I had maybe picked up a catfish but after reeling in quick I saw a green flash under the water and knew I had a good one.

Finally after fishing 3 club tournaments I had my first keeper of the year.  It was a 20" 3.5 lb fish.  Nothing huge, but it was a welcome sight to my sore eyes.  I was amped up enough that I forgot to get a picture of it. 

After Flint gave me that keeper she decided to shut the door for the rest of the day.  It seemed like the rest of the day neither one of us even felt the tiniest nibble.  At weigh-in I thought I was going to have the big bass of the day with the reputation we've had on this lake, but to my dismay it seemed like every one caught a ton of fish.  My 3.5 lbs didn't carry to far when others were turning in 2-3 fish all weighing the same as mine or more.  I will say that I think that day changed our outlook on old Glenn Flint.  I think many are ready to go back this year and give it another go. 

Next up Portside Marine's 2nd Annual kayak tournament!  Stay tuned!

[wettinaline]

Update 2 of 3 -- Tiny Time

Sunday April 27th, 2014

Sunday, I was back on the club tournament trail again as it was one of my "super fishing weekends" (tournament on Saturday and then another on Sunday).  With my first tournament at our home lake of Rockville Lake in Rockville, Indiana.  

As you may remember from my Early Bird Tournament post from last October, Rockville Lake is a smaller lake that we fish on that is a trolling motor only lake.  Last year, I ended up catching 42 (I think) fish all just under the 14" size limit posted for bass on the lake.  I was hoping this trip would be a bit different and maybe the fish grew a bit after the long winter.

The day started out as a typical Indiana spring day with a chilly morning followed by a warmer afternoon with blue bird skies.  A cold front had pushed through with some rain the night before, so I figured the lake water would be the dreaded chocolate milk color.  Chocolate milk water + high pressure + blue bird skies usually equals a horrible day fishing.  Surprisingly, when we arrived at the lake the water was very very clear.  With the help of my Solar Bat sunglasses I could see about 10 feet down into the water with no problems.  You could even see tiny little plants starting to poke through the mud all over the bottom.

The first 20 minutes of the tournament I ended up landing six fish with the sizes of 12", 10", 12 1/2", 11 3/4", 13" and 13 3/4".  Again, all just under the keeper status of 14".  In my mind I just kept thinking, oh great, here we go again...tons of tiny ones as usual.  I tried to keep a positive attitude knowing that if I didn't the fish would flat out run away from me.

I seemed to be catching everything on a 7 1/2" Culprit Red Shad worm.  

Culprit Red Shad

I don't know if it was the red that the bass were keying in on or the black, but regardless they were biting.  This tournament I was in my bass boat and didn't have a co-boater with me so I had time to fish pretty methodically making sure to hit every downed tree and every dock and all in all getting a good soaking of my lure.  

All day long the story was the same, catch, too small, release.  Catch, too small, release.  After about 5 hours of getting the same thing over and over I figured I would switch it up and try jigging for awhile to see if maybe it would coax a bigger bass to strike.  I could see fish in the shallows spawing that looked like absolute tanks.  Easy 3-4 pound fish.  I would dance my jig in every possible manner right in front of their noses with not a single one taking the bait.  

About 3 hours left in the tournament the wind started to pick up.  Wind of about 10-15 mph.  I needed to be at the other end of the lake for weigh in coming up so I started to make my way south, slowly...very slowly.  Unfortunately, our bass boat only has a 45 pound thrust trolling motor on it so as I pointed south to head to weigh in, I pretty much sat in place.  The wind was strong enough that I wasn't moving.  I had the motor set on the strongest setting it would go and was maybe moving an inch every 5 minutes.  I could feel the batteries getting weaker and weaker as each minute passed.  At this point, with no fish in the live well and a boat that wouldn't move I was very aggravated.  Hugging the bank as close as I could was my only reprieve from the wind.  Luckily I made it back to the docks just in time for weigh in...with no fish to weigh in.  I caught a total of 36 fish that day with not one stretching over the 14" limit.

Ask any tournament fisherman, there is nothing that gets under your skin more than fishing all day and not being able to weigh in.  It almost feels demeaning, a fish got the best of you for the day and there is nothing you can do about it.  But as the old adage goes, ya win some - ya lose some.  As I've said before, it sure is better than working though!

Part 3 up next! 

[wettinaline]

Early Season Updates - Post 1 of 3

I'm baaaaack!!  Sorry, its been awhile since I've gotten a chance to jump on here but instead of wasting more time  I'll get right into it.  I think I may break this up in two or three parts, again depending on my time as of this post.

Saturday, April 26th, 2014

Although I had fished out of my kayak a couple of times so far this season, I still hadn't gotten it out in a tournament format for the year.  This day was my first chance to change that in 2014.

The Central Indiana Kayak Anglers once again hosted a kayak tournament to benefit the Heroes on the Water (H.O.W.) Indiana branch.  I had posted about these guys last year (go here for that posting) and what an awesome organization this was so it was an honor to get to fish with these guys again.  Also, it kind of helped out that I had to be there to defend my title as I luckily won last years tournament.  

Starting out in the morning I was worried that with our crazy weather this year something was just bound to go awry as it always seems to with kayak tournaments.  Thankfully, it was just a little chilly in the morning as I loaded up my Hobie ProAngler 12 kayak and all my gear before making the 45-50 minute trek up to Eagle Creek Reservoir in beautiful Brownsburg, Indiana.

Ready to go!

Once again, I was faced with something that had kept me up all night the night before (besides my son crying).  I had never in my life ever been on this lake.  Driven over it hundreds of times, but never fished it.  I had spoken with other people who had fished it before and all seemed to say they loved the place so it added to the excitement for the day.

I fortunately have a buddy who is also on the Hobie Fishing Team through Portside Marine with me, Jason Young of Geek-Fish.com fame, who did some pretty extensive research, even pre-fished the lake and was more than willing to share info with me.  Check out his site for some GoPro action and see some of the greenfish he caught!

When we pulled up we noticed that there were a ton of people already there starting to unload their kayaks and gear.  I could tell from the people in the parking lot there that early that this was probably going to be a BIG one.  To be honest, it really did make me nervous, but it had my adrenaline going full blast.

After unloading our gear and going over the rules of the tournament we were finally allowed to hit the water.  This tournament was like the other ones I've done, called a CPR tournament.  Catch - Photo - Release.  Basically, you have to take a picture of your fish on a measuring board (bump board, hog trough) then you let it go.  I had my phone sealed up tight in a waterproof case ready to go and hoping I would have to use it a lot throughout the day.

Trailer FULL of kayaks!

Jason getting his Hobie ready in center

My kayak ready to go!

  Silhouette of Jason Young during sunrise

Since my adrenaline was already pumping as much as it could, it wasn't long before I felt the familiar burn in my legs from peddling my kayak as fast as it could go to my first destination.  It felt like i had peddled for at least a mile and a half, probably wasn't, but it felt like it!  I found a cove that didn't have a single person on it yet - thanks to the speed of the Hobie Mirage Drive, nobody had made it even close to me yet.

I started off throwing a Strike King 1.5 squarebill crank bait, sexy shad in color, as I had some pretty good luck on one a couple of days before at my home lake.

Strike King 1.5 Squarebill (Sexy Shad)

Within about 4 casts, I felt a nice little tug on my line and wrestled my first fish in the boat.

Fish 1 - Notice the arm band "token" that had to be in every photo.

This was just a little guy but it felt good to have one on my camera so early.  I then headed farther back into a cove pitching jigs and worms into brush piles.  About 15-20 minutes later I had my second fish in the boat!

Even smaller :-/

I now had two of three fish on my camera and was looking for more so I could start culling.  The bite seemed to die off a bit after fish number two so I decided to move to a different cove to see if some bigger fish maybe lived there...but not before a few more last casts.  

Glad I took those last casts because all of a sudden it felt like a freight train was on the end of my line.  I could tell when I set the hook that this one had some size to her!  I finally got the bass up to the boat and in.  I knew it was a big one just from the feeling of the weight and the fight it was putting up.  As I put the fish on my board it easily stretched out to 19+ inches.  It looked like a monster up to the previous two that I had landed.

As I was getting my phone out of my pouch to get a good picture of the fish, I ended up getting a bunch of water on the outside of my phone and all over the lens distorting the picture.  I hurriedly tried to wipe the water off just making it worse and worse the more I wiped.  I tried using the bottom of my shirt and finally got all the water off for a nice clear shot of the fish.  As I turned to take the picture I suddenly feel no weight on my legs.  I looked to the left just in time to see the back end of the fish hit the water with a splash......yes.....once again I lost a VERY nice fish because I was messing with my camera.  It seems like almost every kayak tournament I lose at least one fish, big or small.  Heartbreak is what I felt, but I tried to get it out of my system as quickly as I could.  Every big time pro I've ever read about or heard an interview from have said to never get mad or down about missing or losing a fish, if you do you're pretty much done for the day.  I just had to move on and try to get a better one.

A few hours passed without another bite but I kept pitching and flipping and throwing my crankbaits at anything and everything.  Luckily, I landed my third fish after beating up a rock bank for what seemed like two hours.

Dink #3

After getting my third the time that was left in the tournament was about to run out.  I had to go as fast as I could to make it back in time so I started again peddling until it felt like I would die.  There was a whole wave of people migrating to the "weigh-in" at the same time.

A few people weighing in

Everyone had mixed results on the day, some catching a few, some catching none.  When it was all said and done, I ended up getting 3rd out of 47 people.  Not too bad for my three little fish I turned in.  Here were the results:

1. Cody Slavens - 43 1/2" 2. Dan Sutton - 40 1/2" 3. Keenan Chamberlain - 36" 4. Tom Moore - 25 3/4" 5. Jesse Wade - 17 1/2"

Yep, we figured it up, if I had landed my 19+ inch fish, I would have ended up winning by 1 inch!  Oh well I guess!  Win some, lose some.  It was worth going to 100 fold just to meet some new people and to give to an awesome cause like H.O.W.  We ended up raising $1,000.00 that day for H.O.W which was awesome.  I really can't wait for the next one and for the chance to get a big one out of the Hobie.  You better believe if I do hook into one...the fish is staying on my line until the picture is taken (thanks Mom and Dad!).

Part 2 of 3 coming soon!  Until then...tight lines!!!

___________________________________

Just wanted to say another THANK YOU to Portside Marine out of Westfield Indiana for this awesome opportunity to be fishing for you guys!

Also another thank you to Solar Bat Sunglasses in Brazil Indiana for their amazing sunglasses!  Check them both out today!

[wettinaline]

I have a 3 tournament update coming in the next couple of days. My little guy has been keeping me busy! He's ready for some fishing though! Stay tuned!

[wettinaline]

Just wanted to say Happy Easter to everyone! The Easter bunny brought my son his 1st fishin' pole!!!

[wettinaline]

Good tips from the G-Man...also don't forget the Dude Wipes!

[wettinaline]

1st Tournament 2014

Well the 2014 fishing season started out this past March 30th on Raccoon Lake in Parke County Indiana.  The Parke County Bassmasters club had our usual early morning breakfast before hitting the lake on a frosty morning.  It was awesome to feel the anxiousness again of knowing we were hitting the lake again after a very long and snowy winter.  The temps for the day were projected for highs in the high 50's to low 60's, perfect fishing weather.  Starting out was no where near those temps, however.  By the time I drove to breakfast and the lake there was a very thick coating of frost over all my rods, reels and tackle boxes.  Probably should have put it all in the cab of my truck for the trip but ya live and learn.

Small doe at sunrise as I entered the park.

Raccoon Lake (Cecil M. Hardin Lake) is a lake that every winter they let almost all the water out of it.  So even though we had a TON of snow this winter the lake wasn't as high as it normally is during the summer.  This tournament I was originally slated to boat with Mark Ford, one of the guys who's been around in the club awhile.  One of the new guys in the club, Ethan, was fishing in his first tournament and we weren't real sure if he knew all the low spots on the lake so I decided to ride along with him to give what little pointers I knew.

We drew the first boat to launch, so we powered up and hit about 50 mph in no time.  I don't think I've felt a sting like that in a loooong time.  Again at launch it was about 28-29 degrees so in the wind it felt about negative 25.  We finally arrived at our first spots to fish we realized the water was the same color as chocolate milk.  I hate fishing in water like that, never seem to get even a bite.

I should have known how the day would be...chocolate milk water, very cold (39-45 degree) water, new boater is probably going to equal no fish.  Boy was I ever right.  We both threw about every single thing we had in our boxes.  We tried all of our typical "spring baits".  Jerkbaits, lipless cranks, jigs, squarebills, chatterbaits, deep diving crankbaits, drop shots...EVERYTHING.  Not a single nibble or bump.

We were looking everywhere for the fish.  We weren't even marking very many on the fish finder.  I was able to look pretty easily in shallow water as well with my Solar Bat sunglasses, which did an amazing job by the way!  But, sadly, no matter what we did we couldn't find what they wanted.  Next thing we know it was 2:55 p.m. and time to head to weigh in.  Some of the older guys in the club always seem to do well on this lake so I figured we were going to be slaughtered.

Out of 9 or 10 fishermen only one of us caught a keeper.  Mark Ford, the guy I was originally boating with, turned in a pretty nice 3 lb 8 oz (I think) largemouth bass and Aaron Kite turned in a carp for the critter pot prize.

Hopefully, the rest of the tournaments this year don't end up like this one did.  Regardless of not catching a single fish it was still exciting to be on the water again.  That elusive first fish of 2014 is still running away from me.  But trust me...its only a matter of time before that familiar tug is felt on the end of my line and that first green (or brown) fishing comes up to say hello and get a kiss.  Until then, good luck and tight lines everyone!