Archive for category Fishing Blogs
Lake Arthur Tournaments
Posted by Leo Cancilla in Cancilla's Fishing Blog on August 24, 2010
Recently I competed in multiple tournaments on Lake Arthur. First, dad and I fished the KBBC Event on August 14th. We were in the second flight so we fished from 7-3:30. Flight number and boat number didn’t matter much because we haven’t been able to put a pattern together and we haven’t been able to locate fish at Lake Arthur all year. Before the tournament started we decided to come out junk fishing.
We started the day by fishing a couple brush piles which yeilded zero fish. Then we tried powerfishing a weed line. Once again nothing. We decided to slow down and fish a couple of small sets of lilly pads. It was slightly better because dad managed to catch a dink. After that we decided to run to a stump and a beaver hut. Again we came up empty. So we decided to try to fish another weed line, and each of us caught a dink. Continuing to struggle around 9:00 I decided I wanted to flip a bush that has given me numerous keepers throughout the years. Before I got to the bush I caught a dink outside it swimming a jig. My next cast was a pitch into the bush. And like it has done many times it gave me a keeper. It was a start. Then after a couple minutes I remembered where another bush was I wanted to hit. First cast was another keeper. The jig bite was one and so was the flipping bite! Neither have been working all year for me. Dad lost a keeper smallie shortly after my second keeper. On that lake you just can’t afford to loose fish and we knew it, but we kept our spirits and ran to another tree. It was now 10:15 and I nailed another keeper. This time it was a decent 3.78lb largemouth. With 3 keepers in the well and nearly 5 hours to fish we felt really good about our chances for more fish. However, the rest of the day consisted of short strikes and plenty of dinks. At least until 2:45 when we caught another keeper largemouth on a jig. That day we ended up finishing in 10th place with 9.28lbs. Not bad for not being on any type of pattern until that day. Check out the Lake Arthur KBBC standings here.
After a good tournament with dad, I fished the Kyle Mcfeely Tournament with Jon the next weekend at Lake Arthur. It was a well run benefit tournament hosted by Jerry Hanna and CDS Sporting Goods. Jon and I felt good about our chances going into the tournament because now both of us were on fish and they were in the same end of the lake. That almost never happens for us. I will not go into too much detail because we only were able to catch 1 keeper and it was a baby at that. However, the tournament was a success in raising money and a job well done by the CDS crew. I look forward to fishing the event next year and supporting their cause. For tournament result and stats check out the CDS Sporting Goods webiste.
TBF District 6 Tournament – Lake Erie
Posted by Bass Hounds in The Bass Hounds Blog on August 12, 2010
August 8th marked the second of three TBF district 6 tournaments. This tournament was held on Lake Erie. The tournament launched from Marina Bay and was open to all waters, bay and main lake. The Bass Hounds were there with 3 boaters and two riders. The limit at the tournament was 4 fish, due to issues with keeping fish alive, due to very hot water temperatures; at the pre-tourney meeting the limit was changed to three fish to try to help this situation.
Most if not all boats headed out of the bay and towards the main lake to fish for the giant smallmouth bass that the lake has to offer. Heading west was almost impossible as the wind was from the west and the waves were growing bigger and bigger, hour by hour. At 6am when the tournament took off the waves were around 3 to 6 foot. This made the fishing almost impossible. The guys that headed east were able to fish for a little longer until the wind and waves caught up to them. By 1pm there was a small craft advisory on the lake with waves in the 4 to 8 foot range. Most boats had headed near or into the bay by 12 noon. Largemouth bass can be caught near and in the bay area at Erie.
The choice baits at Erie are tubes, drop shot, blade baits, and even top water lures. It seems you need some wind at Erie to make the fishing good, but you know what they say about too much of a good thing. The wind was so bad that guys we were using 1 oz plus weights to try to get our baits to stay on the bottom. It was just plain hard to get a bite when the conditions are like that.
Out of 46 entries only 9 limits were weighed, also fish were weighed by only 25 contestants. One of the limits weighed was by Bass Hounds boater Rich Wolota, a limit of three largemouths’s weighing in at 5.72 as all he could do. Rich said that his spots on the main lake were unfishable when he arrived there. This limit landed Rich in 8th place for the tournament. Co anglers Derek Severns and Jeff Spencer both had one fish each. This left Derek in 6th place and Jeff in 12th. These were finishes that helped out all three anglers in the Angler and Co-Angler of the year races. After Erie, Rich Wolota is in second place in the Angler of the year standings. In the Co-Angler of the year standings after 2 of 3 events, Derek Severns is in first place and Jeff Spencer is in fifth place. Anglers Brad Bressler and Brian Spencer are sitting in 10th and 18th respectively.
August 22 marks the last of the three District 6 events on the Allegheny River. The Bass Hounds are looking for a strong finish to the year and possibly two Angler of the Year titles. Again, The Bass Hounds would like to thank all of their sponsors. A special thanks goes out for this update to Valvoline Oil for their sponsorship throughout the year…Thanks again guys, catch you after the Allegheny River.
Wilhelm Club Tournament
Posted by Leo Cancilla in Cancilla's Fishing Blog on August 9, 2010
This past Sunday my club, West Penn Bass Hunters, had a bass tournament on Lake Wilhelm. Because of the possibilities of big bags of fish and good numbers I was really excited about fishing this tournament. Eleven guys set out of the launch at 6:00 am. All of us were excited about the weather conditions and the fact that we were there.
I ran several spots at different depths in the early morning. I fished weeds, brush piles, rocks piles, roadbeds, and laydowns. I had no success. Not even a hit in some of my favorite spots. At 8:55 I decided to run to a stretch of shoreline that usually produces a couple of keepers. I managed to caught 1 small keeper largemouth bass on a beaver in about 1 foot of water out of the weeds. On that same shoreline there is a submerged tree that sits on a breakline in 8-12 feet of water. I decided to fish it while I was in the area. It took me circling that area 2 times before I got hit, but it ended up being my lunker and tournament lunker at 3lbs. I know what you are thinking…3lbs at Lake Wilhelm? I managed to get another 13″ keeper out of the same tree and miss one other strike. Little did I know it would be the last strike of the day.
In West Penn Bass Hunters we keep 3 fish limits. My 3 fish limit weighed 5.15lbs. My lunker was 3.03lbs. I won both categories in the event! I have never seen this lake so tough in all the years I have fished it. It was so bad that I almost threw my fish back around 1:00 and went home. For obvisous reasons I am glad I didn’t. This goes to show you that you never know how well you are truly doing until you come into weigh-in. Just because you feel you are doing crappy doesn’t mean that you aren’t fishing well enough to win.
Now I ask and open ended question and hope some guys reply through the comments. There were a lot of dead fish floating on the lake this weekend. I believe that the oxygen level is too low. The water temperature is about normal, but the lake isn’t producing weeds like it has in previous years. My question is where are the weeds and why is one of the best fisheries in the state, if not the best, having a problem with dead fish. It is not species oriented either. I saw crap, bluegill, crappie, and bass floating. I look forward to hearing to everyones answers.
LAKE WILHELM BASS TOURNAMENT
Posted by Leo Cancilla in Cancilla's Fishing Blog on July 28, 2010
This past Sunday, Jon and I fished an open bass tournament together at Lake Wilhelm. The tournament was set to start at 6 am and end at 2 pm. Although the open event was held at what I consider the second best lake in the state it was a low turn out. Even though the turn out was low, some of the best fishermen in the area came out that day to compete.
The tournament started and we ran to an area that was holding a good number of fish. We started the tournament relatively slow. Each of us boated only 1 keeper on our normal lures in the first hour and a half of the tournament. We didn’t switch spots, but I switched tactics. I switch to a crankbait and boated 6 fish in the next hour and a half including a 3+ and a 2+. Finally, a couple decent fish. The next hours was dead as we ran spot to spot looking for more fish. Finally, we decided to make a longer run to a couple spots which we have history with. It was a good move. By 12:00 we caught 3 more good fish. One was over 4lbs and the others were 3+ and 2+ respectfully. Even though we had a decent bag of fish we knew we needed more. We moved around an hit more spots and some spots twice with no results.
When we got to the launch we had discovered that we weren’t the only boat that had struggled. Most boats had between 10 and 12 pounds with or without a limit. Jon and I managed to bring in a 5 fish bag that weighed 15.06lbs. It was good enough to finish 5th place I believe. That may seem like a great day, but typically at Lake wilhelm you are going to need 20+ pounds to contend. The tournament was won with a total weight of 17.80 pounds. The weather played a role in the out come of the tournament, and a great adjustment was made by the team that won the event. Congrats to them. Thanks to the club which put the event on. I look forward to fishing it next year.
Trip to Lake Wilhelm
Posted by Jon Parker in Parker's Fishing Blog on July 20, 2010
Made a trip up to Wilhelm this past Sunday, with my buddy, and much like the past few trips up there this year we struggled to get quality fish. We put in at the marina around 6am and we started working our way down the shoreline. We didn’t get anything to speak of in the first 3 or 4 spots we hit. We tried jigs, cranks, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, and worms. There was lots of bait moving around, just nothing eating it. Finally around 11am we made a run down by the dam to a spot I can normally get a few good one off of and BJ got a nice one. We caught a few more fish down there and decided it was too hot to stay out much longer, so we headed in. One thing that I have noticed up there this year is the fact that the weeds are not growing very well. Most of the spots I fish up there don’t have the weeds on them like they did in the past.
Lake Arthur Striper
Posted by Leo Cancilla in Cancilla's Fishing Blog on July 17, 2010
My sister and I went out to Lake Arthur last night to see if we could get into the striper. I hadn’t night fished out there in a few years, but it won’t take me long to get back out there. The striper were very active from about 10:30 to 12:30. We managed to hook up with 3 striper. One was the biggest striper that I have ever caught. It weighed over 12lbs and measured over 30 inches long! Unfortunately, I left my camera at home, but he will forever be burned into our memory. Thanks to my Stay Put Shallow Water Anchor I was able to stay put in one area without spooking the fish with my trolling motor. In only my second trip to the lake with the anchoring system it has already made a difference in the out come of my trip to the lake. Keep checking back to see if I have writen the product review and article on the anchoring system.
TBF Erie Regional, TBF Mr. Bass West and TBF District 6 Event #1
Posted by Bass Hounds in The Bass Hounds Blog on July 15, 2010
The weekend of June 26th and 27th was the West Regional 6 man team event at Lake Erie. This tournament was held in the Bay. The fishing was extremely tough and the guys fished hard but finished 7th. Not quite the results they were looking for, but never the less it was a great time and they all learned a lot about the bay.
July 9th and 10th marked the Mr. Bass West tournament, held at Chautauqua Lake in Jamestown NY. This is an excellent bass fishery located about 40 east of Lake Erie. Three of the 5 team members arrived at the lake Tuesday morning to pre fish for 3 days prior to the tournament. The fish were biting well, on crank baits, senkos, and jigs. Deep weed edges, points and docks seemed to be the best spots to locate these fish. Friday morning was the first morning of the tournament, and a front was on its way in, by noon it was raining so hard you couldn’t see 10 feet in front of the boat. Saturday was much better weather, although fishing after a front is tough as we all know. At the end of the two day tournament, anglers Brian Spencer finished 6th with a weight of 19.72, Brad Bressler finished 7th with a weight of 18.34 and Rich Wolota finished 11th with a final weight of 12.63. On the co-angler side of the team Derek Severns finished 7th with a weight of 10.59 and Jeff Spencer finished up 10th with 10.47. Both Brian and Brad were able to qualify for the PA State Championship from this tournament. The PA State Championship will be held in October, back at Chautauqua Lake.
July 11th was the first of three District 6 events that the Bass Hounds will be fishing. This event was held at Chautauqua Lake after the 2 prior days of the Mr. Bass tournament. Finding and having fish for three days is tough. This tournament would be a true test of how the week of pre fishing worked out. Following some of the same patterns but changing up some locations and trying a few new spots lead the team to some good finishes. Brad Bressler, angler for the Bass Hounds, finished 2nd with 13.25 pounds. Angler Rich Wolota had 11.38 pounds to finish 3rd. Angler Brian Spencer had 7.30 pounds to finish 9th. Co angler Derek Severns finished 2nd on the co anglers side with 9.07 pounds and the lunker of the tournament, a 5.25 smallmouth caught on a Poor Boys ¾ ounce green pumpkin jig. Jeff Spencer finished 10th on the co angler side with 2.79 pounds. So the first of three events was a great showing for the Bass Hounds with 2 seconds and a 3rd. The next District 6 tournament will be on Lake Erie August 8th followed by the Allegheny River tournament at Brady’s Bend August 22nd.
The Bass Hounds would like to take a moment to thank all of their 2010 sponsors because without them none of this would be possible. A special thanks goes out to Valvoline Oil, Strauss Automotive, Nervous Waters, Metal Menders, Nowak Commercial Refinishes, Poor Boys Baits, Ardent Reels, and Fish Pittsburgh.com. Please feel free to check out any and all of these companies, mention the Bass Hounds team sent you and they will take care of you. Support the people and companies that support our sport. Catch you on the water.
Stay Put Shallow Water Anchor
Posted by Leo Cancilla in Cancilla's Fishing Blog on July 15, 2010
Last night at the Wednesday Night Tournament hosted by the Butler Basscasters I used a Stay Put Shallow Water Anchor for the first time. The one that I am using is a bow mounted version. I am not going to go into an over amount of detail about the product yet, but I know there were several guys that had asked me where to find this system. I will tell you that my first impression of this product is good. In the next couple of weeks, you will find an article and product review on our website.
River Troubles
Posted by Leo Cancilla in Cancilla's Fishing Blog on July 14, 2010
This past weekend I spent 2 days fishing the local river systems. Saturday I spent the day fishing the Monongahela River. We launched out of Ten Mile County Park because I was trying to decided whether or not to fish the upcoming KBBC event there. I have always struggle fishing this stretch of river more than I usually struggle on river systems. I spent the day fishing in the creek and miles of shoreline and different covers on the river itself. Between my friend and I, we boated 2 keepers and only 10 bass.
For years I have had trouble catching fish in this pool and keep asking myself what is the draw for a circuit such as KBBC to continue to travel there. Few teams are successful enough to get limits, and most limits include fish that are barely 12″ in length. Rarely have I found a quality fish in this pool. The answer to my own question is this. The location is a beautiful stretch of river that is a not dangerous to navigate. Ten Mile County Park is an excellent facility that is perfect to host the event. If it wasn’t for the insignificant size and amount of fish in this pool I would really enjoy it.
Sunday I fished a club tournament out of the Freeport Boat Launch on the Allegheny River. Once again I had my usual struggle on the river, but I managed to get a 3 fish limit of bass. I was able to catch 10 dinks and loose another 6-8 dinks that couldn’t fit the lures in their mouths. The difference of this section of river was that I was able to see some nice bass in a few areas to let me know that the pool has great potential. At one point I had a 20″ smallmouth swim by my boat with no interest in eating any lures.
I will be spending more time on our local rivers because if there is one area that I really need to improve on it is my river fishing. The key for catching fish this past weekend was downsizing to using 3″ senkos, small tubes, and smallie beavers. The fish seems to be suspended. Good luck to all that are fishing the KBBC event this weekend.
Post Spawn Transition Areas
Posted by skinard in Kinard's Fishing Blog on July 7, 2010
Summer is now here and the bass fishing, in Western PA, has heated up along with the hot temperatures. The Largemouth Bass have completed their spawing for the year and are now in a post spawn pattern. Post spawn largemouth will hold in the transition areas in post spawn until they enter their summer patterns. Bass fishing is all about opportunities and catching the fish at the right moment. Post spawn largemouth feed heavily to gain weight after the spawn. This is a fine opportunity to locate schools of bass on staging areas. A staging area can be anything from a point, hump, roadbed, wood, rubble, etc. The key factor to locating the school is finding where the bait is and also finding the areas closer to deeper water. If you can find these areas, all you have to do is look for the cover on the structure and that’s where you will find success. The baits that work this time of year depend on the forage and also the lake that you are fishing. Covering water with fast moving search baits will give you the clues you need to locate the fish. Although the post spawn can be breif, it is a great opportunity to hit your local waterway and test your skills to find the bass. Here’s a few videos I took from a great day on a small lake. Boated or lost around 40 bass all in the 3 to 4 lb range and a couple over 5+! Post spawn patterns and transition areas can equal big bass days for the opportunistic bass angler.
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