Winter Fishing at Bull Run

As December approached, I focused on crappie. I really never targeted crappie, I mainly caught them while chasing largemouth bass. One of those "oh, hey, look what I've got here", kind of things. I believe Robert Altman said it best: "I love fishing. You put that line in the water and you don't know what's on the other end. Your imagination is under there."

I began researching the best approach to keeping your lure in the target area during the winter season. Since my favorite winter hole is known to have some huge giant timber laying underneath brought down the creek from the rushing water. I wanted to minimize hang-ups, but get the lure down to the those fish in deeper water.

First, I decided to look into the slip bobber approach coupled with a dual jig rig. Since I am fishing fairly deep water, I wanted a setup that allowed me to adjust accordingly.

Second, I went with Strike King Crappie Tubes coupled with Road Runner jigs. Additionally, I filled the tubes with Berkley Crappie Nibbles. Here is the method I used to inject crappie nibbles into the tubes. The method works as you can see here.



It's been a great December and a great year of fishing. Hopefully, next year I'll be able to get a couple fresh water citations.

Hiking and Fishing Bull Run 2013

Here are my adventures down Bull Run from October through December 2013. There were some mild days, there were some cold days, there were some skunks, there were plenty of tiny fish caught, but most importantly it was relaxing, fun, and I got plenty of exercise. I love this time of year!

Cold Sunshine

Last Saturday hit a pond with a buddy of mine. I only managed a couple of short strikes but that was about it. I had three rods with me. One rigged with a jig, a Carolina rig, and another for hard baits. It was terrible!

I decided after a lunch to hit Bull Run since it was much closer to home. The water was a bit muddy, cold, but the sunshine was out.

The location I was casting from allowed me to target deeper water. I decided to stick with the Carolina rig minus the bead. With the water being cold, I decided to go with a light barrel weight and Zoom Fluke. Since these fish had to be in deeper water. I wanted a slow fall with something that mimicked a dying bait fish. 

The one that would save me from a skunk.

Zoom Fluke

After a few casts, a couple of short strikes, I felt a thump. In this particular cast as my lure was descending, I felt my lure bounce off a submerged log. The water in that area is 20 feet deep with tons of submerged timber. As soon as it bounced off the log, I gave my rod a quick few twitches. BAM!  

 She didn't put much of a fight, but she was a beauty with a battle scar.

The release.



The excitement level of hooking a fish whether a 12" or 24" is always the same. With this crazy early spring weather and lack of sunshine. It felt great to wet the line once again.

It was slow the rest of the afternoon, only managing a few small bass and white perch.Taking in the sunshine, a little vitamin D while I waited.

Until Sunday when I take my Ride 135 out for the first time, enjoy this tune.