UNDERCOVER WITH THE CARP MAFIA

Big fish bring big smiles!

You know, the term 'rough fishing' can mean a lot of things. There are rough waters, rough fish and rough characters. One of the cool things about 'rough fishing' is that there is always potential to catch big fish...something that I think we all like to do. And, if you are not careful, you might even take a liking to this crazy sport, better known as carp fishing.

To the untrained eye, these dudes look darned near like upstanding citizens.

I recently hooked up with the local chapter of the Carp Mafia and was allowed to get in on some of the latest carp scoop and permitted to fish with these assorted low-lifes. Most of my angling friends do not even know that I associate with such a bunch of bottom-feeders as these, so let's keep it quiet...OK?

Most Carp Mafia members keep their true identity secret.

Truth is, most self-respecting, card carrying CM associates live secret lives as closet carpsters, and that way they can actually exist as almost decent citizens of society. In their own twisted world of hair-rigs, bite alarms and corn, Mafia members often go to great lengths to keep their bottom feeding secrets to themselves, speaking in hushed secrecy and whispering tones when discussing the pursuit of the great golden fish.

This high ranking CM kingpin hides behind a veil of scales and slime.

But behind the secrecy, behind the chum balls and behind all the preparations that go with serious carping, most Carp Mafia chaps are actually somewhat tolerable and do take baths regularly. And...they catch fish!

What is there not to like about catching fish this big?

Decent carp about to be banked.

The fight is coming to an end.

So...when you get a bunch of guys together that are old, in the way and just want to sit in the shade and chew the fat, you actually get a good time! So, when my other, 'uppidy' fishing friends make fun of us carpers, I just tell Rico and the boys, and everything is taken care of. Believe it or not, this just may be my future in fishing...knees bad, can't see well, and won't walk too far from the truck. Throw in big fish that are spooky to catch and sometimes exceed 20 pounds...and, well...what's not to like about it all?

Undercover carpers yuck it up for the camera.

What on the surface may seem like a dull sport and a questionable quarry is actually quite exciting. What seems bad is good, and good can be bad. Kinda like the new life we all can experience once we accept the forgiveness and grace of the Savior...Jesus Christ. I like 2 Corinthians 5:17 where it says...'If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation, the old is gone and the new has come' What a great, GREAT thing to know, that Christ has changed our lives permanently. I wanted that, and I recieved it permanently on Aug 14, 1975, when I gave my life to the King. No longer a bottom dweller, but at the top of the food chain, feasting on grace, forgiveness and love. No secrets, nothing undercover...just a child of God. Seek Him today and you, too, will have that new, and full life that comes when you walk with the King!

SEEMS CLEAR TO ME

Crystal clear gillin'! The ledge below is in 15 feet of water!

I have been having a lot of fun lately fishing for pre-spawn bluegills at a local quarry where the water is amazingly clear. You can make a 40 foot cast with a tiny jig, tract it as it falls through the water column, and watch a big bluegill come up and attack it at the 25 foot level...clear as a bell! Crazy! Plus, there are plenty of bass and some major-league crappies cruising about also. But not all the fish are deep...

This shelf holds many spawning bluegills and bass.

As you can see by the picture above, there is a fairly substantial shelf that many fish utilize for spawning. Looks shallow, but this is actually 10 feet deep or more. The darker water is way, way deep!

Back she goes!

Not a huge bass, but lots of fun on the ultra lights!

This was the best bluegill of the trip...a fine hen just over the ten-inch mark.

This wasn't the first time I had fished here. I enjoyed some summertime bluegilling here a few years back. But it seems that some of the gills have gotten a little bigger. And there always seems to be 2 to 3 pound bass swimming around. Neat, yet eerie place to fish with such deep, dark water and limited shoreline fishing available. Here are a couple more shots of my recent success at this small, public water...a gem!

More chubber gills!

A bonus largemouth bass!

Another 10-inch gill from a previous trip.

Almost all the fish took the 1/80th ounce Pink Thing hair jig & worm.

Yes, fishing in these clear conditions can be both exciting and challenging. You see the fish, they are coming to your bait, you get excited and maybe set the hook too soon. As I was watching all this action from above, I couldn't help but wonder how clearly God sees all of our actions and reactions throughout our life. And, when we are about to make a wrong move, or take the wrong bait, how He must cringe and labor as His heart gets broken, many times in our lifetime. He sees everything in perfect clarity, cheering us on when we do well and suffering pain when we don't. Like the true, Godly Father that He is, He has compassion for us, and emotions run high when He sees us stumble and fall. He loved us so much, that he gave His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us ( John 3:16 ) so that we could spend an eternity with Him. We can not reach heaven by working and tithing and serving or even doing any good deeds. We can not 'earn' His acceptance, because 'all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." as it says in Romans 3:23.

Falling short, getting back up, asking forgiveness and believing in grace...seems clear to me. Praise be to Jesus!

I'm coming back to this place!

GODS LOVE IS DEEPER THAN ANY OCEAN, OR QUARRY, FOR THAT MATTER.

PERFECT TIMING

Matt with a very big bass!

Wow! What a month April of 2013 has been for us! Ususally, we are questing bluegills and crappies at this time of year. But a prolonged progression of spring kept water temperatures down, thus pushing the panfish bite back but maintaining the pre-spawn gig for largemouths in local lakes and ponds. We probably had our best spring bassing in many years, taking them on first Rat-L-Traps, then Mepps Spinners, and most recently on Travis Crossman's outstanding stick worm ... the Stank X Stix in Bluegilla color. Here are some of the highlights recently...

Two plus pounders were all over the place.

We picked up some dinks while scouting for panfish.

Matt with another nice one.

Spinners worked earlier in the month, but the Stix soon took over.

This past week April 22 to 30, we found bass trying to spawn. A few small males were observed on beds, but backed off with an incomimg front and cold nights in the mid 30's. We figured that the larger she-bass were cruising the outskirts of the bedding sites but the water hovered around 60 degrees...too cold to lock them down on the beds. Hardware wouldn't work, so we switched to plastics, and that's were the the best stick worm in the industry, the Stank X Stix at 4.25 inches, shined brightly. Check 'em out...

By far the best stick worm I've used is the 4.25 inch Stix by Stank X Baits.

I seldom hawk products through my blog or columns, but this bait is just too good to not talk about. I have used all the top-line, big name, high-priced stick worms so popularized by the bass fishing industry. But these are phenomenal, tougher than the brand names and , at least for me, just catch more and bigger fish. I am sponsored by no one but my own wallet, but strongly tout American made, quality products by the small business man. Check these out at stankxbaitco.com.

This past Sunday, my son Matt and I fished the local Bass Mart and had an astounding day, for us anyway, as a chilly rain and overcast and windy conditions allowed us to effectively put the worms in front of the cruising mamas. Here is more of the story...

Matt with another rainy day lunker!

We doubled up frequently in the wind and rain.

Even I got in on the 'big fish' action. Cool!

We've been covered up in 3 to 4 pounders this month.

Matt with one of 35 bass he caught and released in the pelting rain.

And on a sunny day, I got this pig on light tackle and the Stix.

This girls got a weight problem!

And here we go...another shot of Matt's monster he got on 6-pound test.

That rainy day effort was a personal best for Matt and I. When the dust finally settled, we had totaled 44 bass, most of which were from 2 to 4 pounds, all in just 2.5 hours of fishing! Wow! Our previous best total here was 16 fish. But we theorized that conditions were just right, 'perfect timing' for this exceptional catch. The bigger fish were cruising and the wind and, at times, pelting rain, allowed us to cast where we 'thought' fish might be roaming, just outside of the bedding areas. We never caught a single fish off of a bed, because they just weren't on them! And we didn't spook any, either.

A memorable trip, exceptional fish, and great times with my boy! Everything was perfect, even if the weather wasn't, for a 'harvest' of great fish, even though we released them all. Timing...that's the key, to fishing and to a life in Christ. In my life, that 'perfect time' came at the age of 23, when I had had enough of what the world was telling me I had to have in order to be happy. 'Sex, drugs and rock and roll' was the anthem of the day. But all of that fell way short in making me happy. As a matter of fact, I was miserable. Praise God! He pulled me out of the pit and mud and mire and 'put a new song on my lips, a hymn of praise to our God' as said in Psalm 40. God has a plan for your life, and He has a perfect time for you to accept His Son Jesus Christ as your personal saviour. Your time may be this very moment, as you read these words. To put it off is dangerous, for none of us know of our days on earth. You may never get another chance to humble your heart to Christ, who will forgive you of all your sins and make you a new creature in His Grace. Simply ask Him to enter your heart and your life, to forgive you and cleanse you, and to create in you the desire to walk as Jesus did. Your life and eternal home will change immediately and forever.

                                  TIME IS SHORT...IS THIS MOMENT YOURS?

'WE AIN'T FISHIN' FOR SMALL STUFF.'

This XXL sized largemouth bass clubbed a 10-inch shiner intended for stripers...cool!

Yeah...that's what my good friend Brandon Rawlings, said as we were about to embark on a leisurely afternoon of trolling at Piney Run Lake in central Maryland. I used to worked there for many years, and we became friends as we pursued bass, stripers, crappie and more at this popular day-use lake of 290 acres. He had been doing well on stripers and big bass by trolling large live shiners. No secrets here...travel slow and let the baits out on a long line and troll around in quest of a hookup.

Big baits play cool in aerated cooler with treated water.

His baits were big...some over ten inches, which is actually larger than a high percentage of the fish I catch! To keep them jumpy, he kept them in an aerated cooler treated with Aqua Safe to eliminate any 'treated water' dangers. We used board planners and Billy Bob floats, and dropped the baits back 50 to 75 yards behind the boat on a slow troll. Earlier success stories this year had put several nice stripers in the boat for him. Here are a couple examples...

Our buddy Justin with a 10-pound class striper.

Brandon shows off a prime spring striper that he trolled up earlier this month. Nice feeesh!

These fish are likely from a 2007 stocking of advanced fingerling striped bass that entered the water at 7-8 inches long. Released in November of that year, they were able to escape predation from the lakes healthy largemouth population due to the diminished feeding activity during the cold. A six-year old striper in Piney Run can run from 30 to 34 inches, thanks to a strong shiner and panfish forage base and trout stocking during the year. Minimal reproduction was observed in the early 1990's by MD DNR, but by-and-large, this is a 'stocked' fishery that is maintained by such, along with volunteer release efforts from far-sighted anglers.

Brandon put me on this fine-looking 14 pounder that we released after some quick pics.

Although we had numerous strikes that afternoon, we only hooked up on three fish. One was a fine looking 14 pound striper and the other fish was an impressive largemouth bass that took one of the overgrown minnows. We had another nice striper on for several minutes, but the fish pulled free. That's fishing.

Big baits equal big fish!

Big bait...big fish. We've all heard it before. Nothing new. And one of the nice things about large baits is that you might get a striper, big catfish or a big bass at any time. Yeah...they cost alot, but they are worth it. And the trolling gig...it unto itself, is a great way to spend a warm spring day on a pretty lake, with a good friend, searching for fish. There's a lot of water out there, a lot of searching for that one big bite.

Trolling...a great search tool for big fish, the 'catch of the day', the one you've been looking for. Kinda' like life...we cruise around alot, often looking in the wrong places, for fullfilment and happiness. Hoping, praying for that one big bite, the 'answer'. What are you trolling for today? Are you looking in the right place?

Proverbs 16:25 states this...'There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to his death."

When I relied on 'my thinking', I suffered. When I rely on God's Truth, I prosper.

                                         STOP TROLLING...START CATCHING!

MASON-DIXON BASS BLITZ

Cold front bass smashed the Mepps from out of algae cover.

The first two weeks of weather in our region has been crazy up and down...from a high of 92 last Wednesday to some night time lows in the upper 40's, from cold rain to sweltering humidity to chilly, fast moving fronts and 30 mph winds. But despite the sporadic climate, I enjoyed one of the best bass fishing weeks of my life, with 11 fish from 4 to nearly 6 pounds. I know, I know...not like they do it on TV with the pros, but I'll take quality largemouths in my own backyard anytime.

Todays winner was the timeless & classic Mepps Aglia.

Where as last weeks winner was a 1/2 oz chrome Rat-L-Trap, this weeks shining star was the classic Mepps Aglia spinners in gold and silver. Those #4 blades sure got the attention of the fish, and they are much more aggressive now that the water has warmed up to 56 degree. Here are a few from todays catch of 11, and the 'top five' are...

The first of five big bass today!

Nice, clean looking fish.

More smiles for the camera!

Fatso of the Day was this 18.5 inch chubber that went over four pounds!

Had to dig this guy out of the algae...cool!

All these bigger fish hit the Mepps on a fast retrieve in shallow, 18 to 24 inch deep water and ambushed the lure from the cover of algae clumps that are making a pressense in this lake. Most were healthy, pre-spawn females, but a few of the fish were young punks that thought they were tough. Here's what the algae clumps and structure looked like...

Doesn't look like much but the bass were all around the algae.

Lots of ambush points for shallow largemouths.

Casting parallel or just to the side of these temporary structures enabled me to have one of my best bass days ever, with my top five fish going around 22 pounds...not bad for hoofin' it! I believe an overcast sky and 58 degree air temps help to moderate from last weeks record heat. Crazy weather! Even the smaller bass in the 2-3 pound range liked the #4 Mepps...

Even smaller bass went for the #4 Aglia.

Strikes were aggressive with most fish hooked solid.

Wow! Mepps spinners...timeless and classic...something that should be in every anglers arsenal. And you know what else should be in every mans' arsenal? The Word of God...the Holy Bible. As it says in 2 Timothy 3:16...'Every word of scripture is God-breathed, and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting  and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work"

TIMELESS AND CLASSIC...THE BIBLE...THE WORD OF GOD...IT'S THAT SIMPLE.

DIAGNOSIS: BASS THUMB

Bed rest and time off from work...Not!

I just got back from the doctor's office and he told me I had a rare, especially for me, case of 'bass thumb'. Bass thumb can be caused by the repeated grabbing of the rough lower jaws of largemouth bass and can cause skin disorders and, in severe cases, can produce torn or abrated skin. Infections are rare, but proper care is needed to avert any serious consequences. I didn't like his script, which came with a set of orders to refrain from bass fishing altogether for the next several weeks. He ordered a follow-up in 10 days to see how things are progressing. I'm afraid I might not be a very good patient.

There are numerous reasons for this case of the thumb. They include the following participants...

Nice 17.5 incher on the first cast...cool!

Stepped up a bit with this 18.5 incher.

Barely hooked, this 4-pounder couldn't resist the 'Trap'.

Another cause to the thumb gig would be the addition of cold, blustery weather, coupled with the soft and feeble hands of an old, burnt-out bluegill fisherman...me! Toss in 46 degree water temps and I was surprised that I caught anything at all. But at the local Largemouth Mart, things were hoppin' and the fish were aggressive enough to chase down a 1/2 oz chrome Rat-L-Trap. I banked 10 fish in two brief, afternoon outings on April 4 and 5. Here are a few more thumb-busters...

BFOD was this 20-inch, near 5 pounder.

Another pre-spawn chubber full of eggs, released unharmed.

SFOD was this dinkish 15 incher...still fun!

I was actually astonished that these fish were chasing down this fast moving bait in mid-forty water. Funny bite, went like this...I would cast far out to the middle of the pond and start the brisk retrieve as soon as the trap hit the water, which means I was in the top 18 to 24 inches of the water column, over 5 to 6 feet of total depth. I couldn't let the lure go to the bottom for fear of glopping algae, which happened almost every cast anyway. ...

Cleaning algae off the lure was a constant hinderance.

So... the strikes would be a soft bump, followed by complete slack in the line, and I needed to strike quickly or the bass would exhale the lure. This tells me the fish were chasing the lure from behind and overtaking it, 'pushing' the lure towards me, creating that slack in the line. Most bass were snared by only one hook, which I believe denotes a soft bite despite their willingness to chase the lure in the cold water.

Purdy one!

BFOD on April 5 was another 20-inch class, near 5 pounder.

The lure that did all these fine fish in was a beat up, old and battle-scarred Rat-LTrap in chrome finish. Didn't look like much, but to hungry, pre-spawn bass coming out of hibernation, they were good as gold...the apple of their eye.

I put faith in the ugliest, beat-up lure in my box. It was gold!

But when you really stop to think of it, God looks at us in much the same way. I'm old, beat up, battle-scarred and don't have a very nice finish. Like that very lure, most of the folks in the fishing world would look at me and put me in the discard box, or the recycle bin. Some would even throw us away. God didn't do that with my life...nope...He pulled me out of the tackle box ' pulled me out of the muck an mirry pit, and gave me a firm place to stand' as it points out on Psalm 40. As it truthfully says in 2 Corinthians 5:17...' if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation, all things old are past, the new has come'.

AT ANY AGE, YOU CAN BE A NEW CREATION. STOP BEING BEATEN UP AND BATTERED

                                              EMBRACE JESUS TODAY FOR A NEW LIFE!