Saltwater Fishing Report

Crappie USA Tournament Results for Mississippi’s Washington Lake

Cotton and Lewis Use Big Bite Baits To Take Overwhelming Win At Washington Lake

This past Saturday Crappie USA held a qualifying event at Washington Lake in Washington County, Mississippi where Warren Cotton and Kirk Lewis both of Memphis, Tennessee took an overwhelming victory weighing in 7 crappie totaling 15.17 pounds on Big Bite Baits. Each team is allowed to weigh in their top 7 fish for the day. Weather conditions hampered anglers in the event on Saturday with temperatures running from 40-44 degrees and falling all day. To top it off it rained all day with bone chilling Northeasterly winds 20-25 MPH. “I commend the anglers who stayed and fished the tournament in these adverse conditions. Many of the anglers who had spent days practicing for the event went home thinking they couldn’t compete due to the weather conditions”, said Crappie USA CEO Darrell Van Vactor.

We want to thank Mike Jones and the staff at Bait “N” Thangs and the Washington County CVB for all their help in making the event a success. Also thanks to Elija Allen and his group from the USDA research and development group for furnishing and releasing the catfish for the Crappie USA Kids Fishing Rodeo which was held in conjunction with the event.

Anglers from 10 different states were competing for not only cash and prizes, but a chance to advance to the prestigious Cabela’s Crappie USA Classic. This year’s classic will be held October 24th-27th, 2012 on the Barkley/Kentucky Lakes at Cadiz, Kentucky.

Semi-Pro Division Results

Taking first place was the team of Warren Cotton and Kirk Lewis of Memphis, Tennessee with a total weight of 15.17 pounds and earning $1,200.00. Warren and Kirk caught 35 fish for the day using orange/chartreuse Big Bite Baits slow trolling in 12 feet of water on the west end of the lake. “This is one of the heaviest weights in years for 7 fish we’ve seen and would be in the record territory on most lakes”, said Van Vactor.

Second place went to the Dyersburg, Tennessee team of Brian Ramm and Jeff Heathcott with a total weight of 8.64 pounds and earning $800.00. Brian and Jeff were slow trolling crappie rigs with red/chartreuse Southern Pro Tubes in the center area of the lake. The team caught 15 fish for the day.

In third place was the team of Ricky Smith of Brookhaven, Mississippi and Jimmy Smith of Bogue Chitto, Mississippi with a weight of 8.22 pounds and earning $400.00. Ricky and Jimmy were also slow trolling using minnows in 12 feet of water from the south to north end of the lake to catch 35 fish for the day.

Eli Rowell of Foxworth, Mississippi and Terry Stewart of Clinton, Mississippi took fourth place with a weight of 7.89 pounds. Eli and Terry were slow trolling minnows 8 feet deep in 13 feet of water in the main center area of the lake.

Fifth place went to Steve Coleman and Ronnie Capps of Tiptonville, Tennessee with a weight of 7.53 pounds. Steve and Ronnie were fishing the center area of the lake using Southern Pro jigs on B’n'M Poles to catch 15 fish 8 feet deep in 17 feet of water.

Ranger Cup Semi-Pro Award

Jason and James Westerberg of Conway, Arkansas took first place in the Ranger Cup Semi-Pro Award winning $250.00.

Amateur Division Results

First place in the amateur division was Steve White of Monticello, Arkansas and David N. White of White Hall, Arkansas with a weight of 9.52 pounds and earning $600.00. Steve and David were using a different technique than other anglers by bouncing their baits off the bottom using orange and chartreuse tubes on Roadrunner heads in 16 feet of water on the south end of the lake. The team only caught 7 fish for the day, but they were 7 fish good enough to take first place in the amateur division of the event.

Second place went to Ricky McWilliams of Halls, Tennessee and Matthew Tosh of Dyersburg, Tennessee weighing in only 4 fish for the day totaling 8.87 pounds and earning $400.00. Ricky and Matthew also took 2nd big fish of the day with a 2.72 pounds and earning them an additional $90.00. The team was slow trolling the middle of the lake in 8-10 feet of water using orange/chartreuse glow Southern Pro jigs.

Taking third place was the team of David Davidson of Halls, Tennessee and Novis Fisher of Friendship, Tennessee weighing in 7.5 pounds and earning $200.00. David and Novis also had big fish of the event with a 3.26 pounds giving them an additional $210.00. The team was slow trolling jigs tipped with minnows in 10 feet of water on the southern end of the lake. The team only caught 7 fish for the day.

In fourth was the team of David McWilliams of Yazoo City, Mississippi and Lance Evans of Flora, Mississippi with a weight of 7.48 pounds. David and Lance were slow trolling orange/lime/chartreuse jigs in 10 feet of water near the middle of the lake.

Fifth place went to the St. Louis team of Steve and Daniel Gentz weighing in 5.31 pounds. Steve and Daniel were spider rigging in 15 feet of water running double minnow rigs 8 feet deep using their B’n'M Poles to catch 5 fish for the day.

Ranger Cup Amateur Division Award

Ricky McWilliams of Halls, Tennessee and Matthew Tosh of Dyersburg, Tennessee took first place in the Ranger Cup Amateur Division Award winning $250.00.

Congratulations to all the teams fishing this event. For a complete list of tournament standings and downloadable photos for this event visit www.crappieusa.com then go to Tournament Results.

Crappie USA Free Kids Fishing Rodeo

In conjunction with the tournament Crappie USA held their Kids Rodeo on Saturday morning with several local children attending the event. All the participants signed up for a chance to win one of 6-$2,000.00 scholarships to be drawn for at the Cabela’s Crappie USA Classic. Once again we wish to thank Elija Allen and his group from the USDA research and development group for furnishing and releasing the catfish for the Crappie USA Kids Fishing Rodeo. Working with the youth of today is a very important part of keeping the sport of fishing alive and well for the future. No matter what species is your favorite, it’s the youth of today which will keep the sport alive for years to come.

Crappie USA and our anglers have contributed nearly $310,000.00 to the “Crappie Kids” Scholarships since 1997. We are very proud to be a part of the education process for the youngsters who participate in our tournaments as adult/youth teams and those who fish in the Crappie USA “Kids Fishing Rodeos”.

A special thanks goes out to the Greenville Washington County Convention Visitors Bureau for their support of this special event. For more information on the area call: 1-800-467-3582 or visit their website at: www.visitgreenville.org.

Stats for the Tournament:

Weather-Temperatures in the 40′s dropping throughout the day with NE winds 20-25 MPH and rain all day long. As some of the anglers said, “It was a bone chilling cold”.

National Sponsors of Crappie USA are: Cabela’s, Rebel Yell Bourbon, Ranger Boats, Evinrude Outboards , B ‘n’ M Poles, Minn Kota, Humminbird Electronics, Adventure Products EGO Nets, J.R. Mad’s, Charlie Brewer’s Slider Co., Big Bite Baits, TTI-Blakemore Road Runner, Driftmaster Rod Holders, Fishouflage, Southern Pro Tackle, Moss Back Rack Fish Attractors, World Fishing Network-WFN, Go Light Inc. and Ron Gooding Insurance.

The following companies furnish product to help make these events possible: Kodiak Fish Attractants, “Fish Guardian” and Keep Alive.

For more information please call Crappie USA Inc. at 270-395-4204. Please visit our website at www.crappieusa.com.

Media Specialist Crappie USA President, CEO

Larry Crecelius Darrell Van Vactor

1002 N. Hayes 125 Ruth Avenue

Salem, IN 47167 Benton, KY 42025

lcrecelius@crappieusa.com dvanvactor@crappieusa.com

Article source: http://www.sportfishermen.com/board/f194/crappie-usa-tournament-results-mississippis-washington-lake-1808637.html

I was able to fish the last 3 days and it may take another 3 to recover. Thursday was a tough one, Friday a little better then Saturday, back in the waves!

Thursday and Friday Gray and I had Gary Stegalls crew in Venice to go chase a few fish. Thursday didnt produce like we had hoped. We fished hard for tuna, wahoo and amberjack and at the end of the day I found myself one short of an amberjack limit and that was it. Tough day on the water right there.

Friday, the plan was to “change zip codes”! We started the day off pulling for hooters. I think we did get a hit but no hook ups. We made a run to go get amberjack and what do you know, today they are hungry!! We put a 6 man limit in the boat in no time and we were off to find the tuna! Or so we thought anyway. On the way out to the blue water we made a stop at a rig that was right in our path. Gray told me to stop, I wasn’t going to listen but saw a few small fish bust so figured I had better check it out. We didn’t find any tuna but did manage 2 nice wahoo! You know, the rest of the day, I had to listen to how gray was right about the stop! May never hear the end of that!! Haha!! After a little ice was on the fish, we continued out to the floaters and I was happy to be fishing blue water again. The first stop had nothing. 2nd and 3rd stop both had a few blackfin and only found one small yellowfin. Not what the crew wanted to see but it happens. I would like to think we could have caught more wahoo but the guys wanted a shot at tuna so that is what we went after. Can’t catch them if you don’t go right? It was still a nice day fishing blue water and we did end the day with a good pile of meat in the box. A super nice crew to fish with, the guys were a real blast.

Saturday, we had a bachelor party here from Texas! It was 15 guys fishing 3 boats. They rolled up to the marina in a tour bus, now these guys know how to party. After all of the beer was iced, we pushed off at about 6:30 from Venice Marina. A bit cool today but no fog and the sun was out, made for a fast trip down the river to be greeted by rough seas and dirty water. With the North wind, the plan was to try to fish in protected waters. This plan started out good but by the end of the day, we were rocking and rolling.
First thing, we drop wahoo baits back and I think it was the first pass, we had line screaming from a reel. After finding the gaff, I was able to stick this pig of a hooter! Man, what a way to start a trip. Baits back in the water, bam, hooked up again! Put that one on ice. I look at Gray and we both think that we are about to just nail these wahoo. You would know, we can’t get another bite. Pull the bean bags to the back, rain gear on, we run to find some amberjack. Now, I told you the day before was easy but we go back to the same place and now the current is kicking and 2- 24 ounce weights can’t even keep the baits out of the rig. Took a little work but we were able to find the fish and get them hooked up! We had to pull most fish out of the rig, some of them had marks on them from the rig, the line was that close to being cut off.
After we put 6 nice jacks on ice, we wanted to look for more wahoo. Despite the rough conditions and one sick crew member, these guys were pumped and having a good time. We were in competition with the other boats and they would stop at nothing to win!!

New spot, put baits in the water, good marks on the screen but no luck. Another rig, Gray could see birds feeding, he pointed the boat in that direction, marks on the screen, what do you know, we triple up! Lose one, one is a big blackfin and the other is…..that’s right, big hooter. Oh yeah, now we are really having fun. Make another pass, hooked up, and another and another. At 5 nice wahoo in the box, the crew agrees to one more pull then we are taking it to the barn. In a perfect world, we would have hooked up on that last pass but we didn’t. I told gray, gotta make one more, he did and now we have our fish on line. One guy taps out, put a fresh one on the reel and in no time the fish is boat side!!! Wahooooo baby! Now we have a pair, 6 jacks and 6 wahoo! Let’s go home….

We have Feb 26th and March 2nd open to fish! This is our only weekend dates open til April. We still have week days open and I can always line you up on one of our other boats if I am booked! We also have inshore guides and lodging if you need it!

The wahoo bite should continue through March and the Tuna are starting to show now! Dolphin will start to show up in April and May and the Marlin will be right behind them. Should be an awesome year, we are already starting to see bait.

Give us a call or email anytime, we will be happy to set you up or answer any questions!

Visit our blog at http://deepsouthcharters.blogspot.com/ for all of our fishing reports and pictures. Also our website at www.deepsouthcharters.com for anything Deep South!!

Capt. Josh Howard
225-572-7408
deepsouthcharters@cox.net
www.deepsouthcharters.com
http://deepsouthcharters.blogspot.com/

Article source: http://www.sportfishermen.com/board/f194/deep-south-charters-fishing-report-venice-2-17-a-1808639.html

February 16, 2012

My clients Dean and Amy Stum and I were lucky to get Wednesday`s trip in ahead of the approaching rains. A mix bag of fish that included bass, redfish, catfish and a mess of trout, only keeping enough trout for lunch at Jan`s. All fish caught today were on glow beetles under a cork and curly tail grubs on the bottom. Also had a great close-up of a beautiful Bald Eagle and its nest.

February 11, 2012

For the last two days I had the pleasure of fishing with Chris and Pat
Diehm from Missouri. A couple of reds, a few bass and 20 plus trout for their effort. The weather was bitterly cold and winds were blowing in the 20-25 mph range which made for dirty water just about everywhere we tried. We were able to get tucked away in some canals where majority of the fish were caught.

February 8, 2012

On Tuesday I had Martin Nieski and his wife from Connecticut and
on Wednesday I had the Wybenga party from Canada. Mostly trout on both days only keeping enough for lunch at Jan`s. All fish caught on Berkley gulps under a cork.

Jean Lafitte Fishing Charters

Toll Free: 1-877-689-4120 Cell: (504) 452-1413
http://www.jeanlafittecharters.com/
E-mail: lafittefishing@cox.net

Article source: http://www.sportfishermen.com/board/f194/jean-lafitte-fishing-charters-report-2-18-a-1808679.html

Capt. Rory said: February 11th, 2012 10:01 pm
Breton Sound meat haul last Saturday on the Beach. I had Grady Erwin and his two sons wanted to get out to the Sound and catch a bunch of Sheepshead. The conditions look iffy. The wind forecast was 10-15 and a front with rain was on the way. We left the dock with fog and some breeze blowing. I decided to stop short in the marsh and look for some Reds. We made a couple of stops, but only managed to put two Reds in the box. The tide was low and falling so I decided to give going outside a shot. We were pleasantly surprised to find the conditions not too bad as we got to the MRGO rocks and pushed on to the Sound. It actually got smoother as we got further out and while we were fishing the wind laid down nicely. We bounced around several rigs catching plenty of fish at each, only thing the Sheepshead were scarce. Good thing the Drum and Reds were thick. It was nonstop action with rods bent and drags screaming. The guys filled the box limiting out on Drum and big Reds, along with a few Heads. They also caught and released a lot of big Reds and Drum that were too big to keep. We beat the oncoming weather and the crew had a blast, taking home a bunch of meat.

United Charters
Shell Beach La
504-439-1680
rory@unitedcharters.com
http://www.unitedcharters.com/

Article source: http://www.sportfishermen.com/board/f194/united-charters-fishing-report-shell-beach-2-11-a-1808680.html

It has been awhile since I last posted a report on Sportfishermen.com, sorry about that. I sometimes get so busy that I just forget to get on here a post something. This year I will attempt to post a report more often. Maybe one a month or something close to that. I’m about to get real busy. Spring through fall is usually non stop for us. So make sure you check back soon to get some good fishing reports for the Galveston Bay Area. As for fishing right now it has been hot and cold! One day fishing is great and then the very next day, we can’t seem to buy a bite. Most of this is because of the weather. The winds coming out of the north at 20 mph one day and then 20 mph out of the southeast the next day, can make for some though fishing. And over the past 2 weeks we have been getting allot of rain. Now when we have good weather, we have been catching some nice fish. Using live shrimp under a cork and bouncing soft plastics on the bottom real slow has been most productive for us. The north and south jetties are starting to heat up too. Plenty of nice red fish are starting to be caught on a regular basis out there. Fishing is about to get real good for us around here and I’m looking forward to another great year. Until next time, see you on the water.

Capt. Alan
www.galvestonfishingteam.com
www.galvestonfishingcharters.com
www.fishgalvestonbay.com

Article source: http://www.sportfishermen.com/board/f194/fishing-report-galveston-bay-2-19-12-a-1806123.html

Venice, Louisiana
Fishing Report February 13, 2012

I started my year off last week catching Redfish with some clients from Texas, down the Mississippi River, South of Venice, Louisiana. These folks fished a good bit, I could tell. We started our day in a shallow bay, fishing the canes, on the lee side of a windy day. No fog, so we knew that was a bonus. We caught about 60 Reds. All but 2 were legal fish. Almost half of them went between 23-30 inches. A quick limit, then we released them. They said we caught 80, but I think it was more like 60.We did it again the next day, but we only caught half as many. The next day we decided to go after the big “Bull” Redfish, so we went somewhere else to try. We ended up catching then releasing 12 fish between 20-29 lbs. We had to work the fish around and under the boat as it pulled the drag out. We were using a soft plastic under a popping cork. We also kept 10 reds that went 24-26 inches. We all had a good time at the lodge in the evenings, and eating plenty. The Venice, Louisiana Redfish are biting, as they are all year, when the conditions are right. March and April are going to be some big Redfish months, for sure. The Venice Speckled Trout will start turning on in Spring. May and June are terrific months to have a chance to catch some fine trophy Speckled Trout down river from Venice. This is the peak time of the spawn of the Speckled Trout. The big Redfish are cooperative at that time, as well. We are excited about meeting and fishing with all the folks that are scheduled to fish with us this February and March. We have some open dates left in April and May. Usually, these months get booked solid due to the big Specks that are caught at this time, so if you are interested, now would be a good time to book with us. Our four night-three day special is something to consider if you have the time. Thanks, Capt. Shawn Lanier. Call at :225-205-5353.

Fish On Guide Service, LLC
Venice,
(225) 205-5353.
llanier1@yahoo.com
http://www.fishon-guideservice.com/

Article source: http://www.sportfishermen.com/board/f194/fish-guide-service-fishing-report-venice-2-18-a-1804576.html

Caught two on light tackle. My left shoulder is sore this morning.

We went scouting yesterday out of Grand Isle and had a slow bite. Fished one oyster reef that had fish. We caught 2 big reds and 5 15″ speckled trout. Weather was pre frontal southwest wind, not so good. Thanks. Capt. Danny

Calmwater Charters
337 Anchor Drive Grand Isle
225-721-8182
calmwater@ymail.com
http://www.calmwatercharters.net/

Article source: http://www.sportfishermen.com/board/f194/calmwaters-charters-grand-isle-report-2-17-a-1803162.html

I had two boats running today with my good customers from Sewart Supply, INC. On my boat I had Al Adams, John Batten, Dean Fowler, and Jason Bemis. Most of the guys were in town from Wisconsin. We had a limited of time this morning as the guys had to be back for 10:00 to get to the airport. We set the bar high on Wednesday and thought for sure we would have a repeat performance today. Well, its called fishing and not catching for a reason!!! It was a slow bite at every stop just picking at 1-3 fish per stop. All conditions were perfect but the fish did not want to cooperate. It was still a very enjoyable trip, even though we did not fill the box full. This was the first time in the Louisiana Marsh for the Wisconsin guys and they loved every second of it. Great group of guys and always a fun group to fish with. Thanks again guys and big thanks to Capt Travis Miller for running the second boat.

All of today’s fish were caught on the Avocado Matrix Shad and Chicken on a Chain TTF Killer Flats Minnows with a slow steady retrieve.

Capt. Marty LaCoste
985 856 4477
www.absolutefishingcharters.com

Article source: http://www.sportfishermen.com/board/f194/dularge-trout-fishing-2-17-2012-a-1802483.html