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White Oak River
So who would have thought that such a beautiful body of water in the middle of a national forest would be such a challenge? But it was, and not only to us anglers but also to our trolling motors and their batteries. That’s right boys and girls, the White Oak whooped up on us on Saturday December 2nd. Blast off was chilly but that’s to be expected on an early December morning. What wasn’t expected was the wind or the current. The wind was pretty strong in the morning sending some fishermen into creeks and out of the way of the gusts. As unlikely as it may seem in the cold winter months this turned out to be a benefit to those who hunted shelter. Yet another shocking top water day I might say.
As the wind began to calm and boaters began to appear more and more on the main river the challenge continued. With strong current and dropping tide the fish seemed to shut off. Not wanting to take the chance of getting swept away in the fast moving current. Even the creek waters seemed to be moving at a pace that challenged a smaller trolling motor. Fighting to find a way to catch a fish and not end up on the bank or down river a ways many anglers came to ramp and checked in empty handed. This truly proved to be a survival of the fittest type of tournament. Though we all persevered and stayed out until the last minute fighting the elements, hoping for that one big bite and trying to ward off the brazen comments of David Rogers only a few managed to bring bass to the scales (none of which were Dave).
Now some of us may say things like “I hate the White Oak” and others may say “well it would have been different if I would have been there”. But it comes down to this. Two Dime showed some skill and some luck and a little bit of stupidity (with loosing that 5th fish and all). But he came home in first with a total weight of 6.57 lbs and a big fish of 1.91lbs. Congratulations Two Dime for another great tournament.
Can’t wait to see you all in January on Sutton. It should be fun!
Neuse-Trent River Saturday November 18, 2006, the air was cold, the water was calm, the sun just beginning to peek over the horizon as the boats blasted off. Heading up the Neuse and down the Trent and to all the small creeks in between, fishermen set their sites on hungry bass. Water on the Neuse was high and relatively clear; while the waters of the Trent seemed to be the absolute opposite. Considering the time of the year and the chill on the air, it was a bit shocking to discover that top water was still the favorite early morning snack of the bucket mouth fish. Anglers also found success in Carolina Riggin off of slopped banks and slow rolling a spinner bait over structure. Some other anglers, however decided to find the river bottom with their hulls (several times that day) and make a valiant attempt at throwing their non-boater out of their boat. That’s ok though it made for some good laughs through-out the day. When it was all said and done, all the boats were trailered and the fish were weighed in (on a hand scale), Robert (2 Dimes) Samples took first place with 14 lbs., Joe Denoyer took second place with 8.13 and big fish with his kicker weighing in at 4.1 lbs. Lake Gaston OK everyone, I know it’s late but what can I say! I was not there to witness it but my understanding is that the Lake Gaston tournament was one of the best all year. The winter chill was in the air Saturday morning as the boats blasted off, making the run a bit chilly, but all in all very enjoyable. The water was calm and the bass were biting on top water first thing in the morning. With the bass trying to eat all they can before the winter cold sets in everyone in attendance weighed fish. Day two saw some wet weather, but the fish were still hitting hard first thing on top water and later in the day on anything under the surface. With crankbaits, worms, spinnerbaits and anything else you can think of snagging bass it was a very good weekend to be on the water. Congratulations go out to Dink for weighing in over 18 lbs, Ed for his close second with over 17 lbs and Joe for placing third with over 12 lbs. Good Tourney sorry I missed it. New River On Saturday August 19, 2006 HawgWild members and their guests took to the water on New River. Each boater thinking they’d be the first one at the ramp as boats began to arrive; some as early as an hour before safe light. There was a slight breeze and the weather report called for rain and cloud cover most of the day. Later we would learn that Skip was wrong again. It proved to be a hot, dry day packed full of tough fishing. Even the most experienced fishermen in the club had a hard time putting more then one bass in the boat. The only reason I can come up with for this is SHRIMP. Yes that’s right shrimp! The shrimp population in New River right now is obscene! The result of this is the bass have such an easy plentiful meal of fresh seafood that they just aren’t willing to chase anything else. Even the local Shrimping industry has said it’s going to be the best year they’ve had in at least a decade. Now with that being said the opinion of this fisherman (and I’m quite sure most of you will argue this with me) is that New River is still the most challenging, fun river to fish. The runs can be long, the fishing can be hard and the water is always changing but love it or hate it New River will always be our home river and I’ll meet any and every one of you out there any time for cold beer, hard fishing or heated conversation! See you all on September 9th at Gottschalk! NE Cape Fear What can you say about NE Cape Fear? Well.....It was a beautiful day on a seemingly beautiful river. The conditions were definitely favorable to catch fish. Yet they just didn’t seem to want to be caught. At 0500 with a warm mist laying heavy on the water the Captain’s began to launch their boats. After several minutes of fighting the current, David Rogers held blast off. The smell of gasoline, boat oil and adrenaline, filled the air as boats shot off in every direction, searching for that early morning bite. Some anglers even traveled through several different counties, but to no avail, the fish weren’t even nibbling. As the boats began to return to the ramp the question of why we fish this river became to topic of conversation and I have to echo that same thought. Why do we fish North East Cape Fear? Is it because we love a challenge? Or maybe we just like to try to even the playing field. I can’t be sure, but one thing I know for sure, next year when we vote in our fishing waters, my vote will be a resounding NO! No more hoping to stumble on fish, no more killing our trolling motor batteries fighting the current, no more wondering why we make the trip. Let’s all take a lesson from Barbra Bush and “Just say NO”! As a final note I would like to congratulate the five or so angler’s that actually caught fish. I’m truly impressed with your ability to adapt to your surrounds and put some beautiful black bass in the live well. Congratulation you gentlemen are tough. Cashie River On Saturday June 10, 2006 HawgWild spent the day on the Cashie River. The Captain's meeting was at 5:35 am followed by launch. The river was calm almost like glass when the boats began to cut through it. As they worked their way further from the ramp the water began to clear and the fishing got pretty exciting. A number of members even report catching upwards of 15 fish that morning ranging in size from 5 to 18 inches with the biggest fish weighing in at 3.24 lbs caught by Ed Taylor on a ..... well I'm not going to tell you what he was using. But those of you who know Ed know what he throws. With a total weight for the day of 36.92 lbs I’d say HawgWild did pretty good. One of the high points to the day was the small amount of traffic on the water, I think even the Game Warden was surprised to see all of us there. The limited number of water goes that we did see were very polite and made a point of showing courtesy on the water. Yes even our jet skiing friends were polite. Slowing down and kicking up as little wake as possible. All in all the opinion of this fisherman is I would fish Cashie again any time if for nothing else then the view. Beautiful river, beautiful day, good fishing and good company. What more could you ask for?