Wed. Apr. 16, 2008

            Arrived at Jameson Inn, Sanford, N.C., 3:30 P.M. Checked in, redressed, freshened up, met and talked with a few of the other anglers, drove on to Ft Bragg 25 miles away to attend the ‘Ice Breaker’ registration at the USA Sports complex inside the Ft. Bragg compound by 5:30 P.M.. The compound encompasses two counties south of Sanford. Upon entering the gate, we were directed to a canopy area to be completely checked with all hoods, lids and doors opened on the vehicle. Identity check was also accomplished while waiting for clearance to enter the compound.  Arrived at USA Sports complex for the military personnel at 6:00 P.M and registered. The rest of the evening was for getting acquainted time with several General’s, Colonel’s, Major’s, along with nearly all the other boater’s, and military personnel who were going to be taken out on the water for a fun day of fishing. Forrest L. Wood and Hank Parker were among the many civilian dignitaries in the crowd.  The evening ended around 10:30 P.M. with the pairing of the boaters and the military partner for Friday’s event. We arrived back at the Inn around midnight, got a shower and wound down a little bit before falling asleep.

Thurs. Apr. 17, 2008

            Woke up, had a little motel breakfast, and had to be back to Ft. Bragg by 8:00 A.M. for a whole day tour of the complex. About 25 of us gathered on the inside of the gate, and were to be bused around the complex as a group. We started the tour at the ‘Wind Tunnel’. This is a building built for simulation of free falling. Powerful fans blow upwards through the middle of the cylindrical building with wind speeds in excess of 170 mph. The wind is recirculated back down around the perimeter of the building. Over half of us were fitted in a jump suit and helmet, and were given the opportunity to experience the ‘Wind Tunnel’s effects. Awesome! Important lesson is to relax and always know where your legs and feet are. We then went to the simulation building for ground firing missiles and small weapons firing. Although we were not allowed to experience the simulated Javelin missile firing, we were all allowed to experience the small weapons (M-4) rifle firing. Ate lunch in the mess hall and got a chance to meet and talk to the many soldiers who were dining at the time. After lunch we went to the parachute jump tower. We were fitted with parachute sacks after a slight briefing, and proceeded to jump off a tower at the height of 34’. The chutes were not allowed to open, so we were fitted onto harnesses that simulated what would happen when the chute would open while in freefall. To jump from 34’ into free air??? And trust your equipment to operate properly?? Crazy, just crazy!! But would do it again. (Kathy jumped twice) We ended the tour at the military base hospital, Womack. The head nurse of the hospital, Colonel Henkel is a civil war buff, and he attends the reenactments at Gettysburg every year. We hope to be able to catch up with him this year when the reenactments take place at Gettysburg. We visited some of the hospitalized soldiers back from Afghanistan and Iraq.  Our only regret was not having enough time to visit the many more injured soldiers than we did. May God bless them all.  We arrived back at the motel around 4:30 P.M.

            The Marine Corp had their soldiers from another base staying with us at the same motel. It turned out my partner was one of them. I had to get my equipment ready for the next day of fishing, so while I was preparing whatever rods I thought he might be able to use, one of the other marine’s had stopped by the boat. He was gracious enough to locate David Olivares, USMC, Canine Unit, my partner for Fri.  A group of us at the boat were discussing various things, fishing being one of them. David had won a custom built rod on Wed. night at registration, but with no reel. So we fitted his rod with a reel and line, and fitted three more rod and reel combo’s for him with various lures that we thought might catch fish the next day. Oh, did I mention that we were never on Lake Jordan just outside of Durham, N.C.? And that David never had the opportunity to fish, or even cast a line before today?

            As I was readying my equipment, I gave David some quick instructions on how to handle open-faced spinning reels, and had him practice casting in the parking lot. It was getting dark, Kathy and I still needed to go out for dinner, so David and I agreed to meet at the ramp at 0400 hours because he had to stay with his unit.  Kathy and I returned to the motel around 10:00, showered, relaxed a bit, and set the alarm for 0300 hours.

Fri. Apr. 18, 2008      

            After the second ringing of the alarm, we arose to get ready for the day. Sandwiches, water, ice and snacks were loaded in the boat after the cover was removed. The morning was chilly, so coats were necessary. Saw a couple of the other boaters, wished them well, and to have fun. Arrived at the ramp at 0415 hours, backed the boat in the water, and tied off near the ramp. We were only going to be starting at 7:15 A.M. so it was going to be a long and cold wait. Another boater along side of me and I were shooting the breeze for a bit, and as we parted ways, I happened to look up, and this other person happened to be looking back. It was my partner David. What are the odds of that in pitch dark?! The wait was on. Watching all the others trying to pair up in the darkness was interesting, almost like organized confusion. Thank goodness for the hot coffee, and the jacket. It got really cold just before that sun was scheduled to arrive.  This blast-off did not meet the scheduled time, and not one of us complained. The Army’s Golden Knights parachute team was going to do a drop from 3000’, and 4 of them were going to land on the back deck of 4 individual bass boats—on the water! The 4-woman team was the best of the best. They have won many gold medals for jumping throughout the world. With the drop plane circling overhead, the pairings were finally complete, and all the boats were on the water, we started with prayer and the singing of the Star Spangled Banner. The four landing boats were in place; the parachutists left the plane and commenced to drop to their designated targets in a 5mph breeze. In near perfect order, all four of them nailed their targets, standing!

            Our day was just about ready to get under way, and at 8:05 A.M. we left the launch area to start our day of fishing. We had an arrival time of 2:15 P.M., so we had to establish a pattern as quickly as possible.  We went to White Oak creek arm, and stopped at a cut and commenced to fish. We stayed off the shore just a bit so David could get some casting time for his inaugural trip. The sonar was showing some fish, but not a whole lot. Conditions did not seem to be quite right.  We motored up to the bridge rip-rap, and with even fewer fish showing up on the sonar, and not a  bite; we moved on to the next cut.  As we followed the shoreline inside the cut, the sonar was showing off numerous fish. The contour seemed right, the make-up of the bottom seemed right, and even though we didn’t have a bite yet, I felt we were in the right place.  As we neared the very rear of the cut, we caught our first bass, a 2 ½ pounder.  That fish came off some deeper buck brush on the outside ledge of the small point.  As we worked our way around, we started looking for like situations. We were nearing the opposite side of the cut near the end, and found another like area. As I pitched the spot-stalker shaky head  to the deeper buck brush, the line started to head for deeper water. I set the hook, and David did a fabulous job of netting a 5 ½  pound largemouth.  The time was approximately 9:30 A.M. We were going to work towards the next cut, but it was full of other anglers, as were the next few cuts further in the creek arm.  We took notice that most of the anglers were fishing this one side of the creek, but hardly anybody fished the other side. In order to get away from the pressure, and to fish some ‘clean’ water; we had just enough time to work 2 or 3 more cuts before we had to head back to weigh-in. We caught three more bass, but they just missed the minimum 16” length requirement.  We headed back to the ramp with our catch. The day had warmed up and was very comfortable on the water. When we hit land, wow, who hit the blast furnace!  They had plenty of water on ice for us to drink, and there was plenty of pizza to go around for everyone, three times over. It turned out the catch was very poor, and when it was all said and done; David and I just missed the top 10, out of 180 boats. We had 2 bass that weighed in at 8 lbs. 2 oz., with the biggest bass weighing at 5 lbs. 7 oz. David’s unit had to leave early because they had a 3 hr run to get back to their base that evening. As luck would have it, his name was called out for a door prize no 10 minutes after he had left. I accepted the custom-built rod for David and assured everybody that I would get it to him.  I look forward to talking with David again, and this rod gave the perfect incentive to do so.

            To put into words for what all went on at Ft Bragg and Lake Jordan in N.C. is next to impossible to portray.  I can say that we should have nothing but praise and give thanks to the service men and women who sacrifice their lives for our ability to enjoy the rights and freedoms that we are blessed with today.          

            May God Bless America.    

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This procedure is favorable, but not limited, to a rocky bank or bottom, open water with slight structure, or grassy areas that are still in the growing stage with firm, green stems and sparsely located.
Matching the weight and the line size to the conditions at hand will make a big difference for attaining the best lure presentation, and alleviating hang-ups as much as possible. When the lure does seem to hang up, forcing it will only drive the hook deep into whatever is there; so use soft hands and slightly work the lure, allowing natural buoyancy to work it through.
Fully insert the jig head into the tube head, breaking the eyelet through the soft plastic. Applying a paste scent attractant to the lead head, like MegaStrike, will allow the lead head to slide inside the tube with ease.

Make sure the hook body is parallel from where the eyelet protrudes through the head to where the curve of the hook passes through the tentacles of the tube. Tear off the tentacles that come in immediate contact with the hook shank on both sides.
By following this process, the tube lure will track straight to you when reeled, swum, or drug. If the retrieved lure comes back in a conical pattern, the alignment needs to be tweaked in order to portray a natural swimming presentation, and more importantly—avoid line twist.

Running the lead head partially into the tube is another practice that at times will produce a better bite, but keep in mind that line twist is imminent. Getting through the day without having to change out fishing line will be a bonus.
There is a wide variety of jig hooks available. Each one has a specialized application for different conditions. Multi-shaped heads, eyelet angle, hook length and gap, and hook hardness all come into play for the diverse obtainable ecosystems.
Adding rattles, foam, scent, or pop rocks, are a few of the many tricks used to enhance the performance of the lure.
Please take care on the water, good fishing and have a blessed day.
 

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Every season, wheels and bearings should be removed and inspected for any uneven wear, pitting, or any other noticeable damage.
Properly clean all components inside the hub and carefully repack with marine-grade grease by massaging the grease into the bearings and not over-packing the hub because of blowing out the rear seal.
Splattered grease on the inside of the wheel rim indicates time to replace the rear seal as well.
Grease the hubs regularly during the season. Bearing buddies make this job much easier to accomplish and maintain.
Oil filled hubs work well; however, they rely heavily on the rear seal.
BRAKES
Brake fluid should not be seen anywhere except in the master cylinder reservoir and should not be milky brown in color.
An easy way to check if surge brakes are working is to push-in on the actuator. If it 'bottoms out', check for leaks, breakage, or master cylinder problems.
Top off the master cylinder with DOT 3 brake fluid.
Performing the essential repairs is pertinent for your safety.


SPECIFICATIONS
Do NOT exceed the manufacturer's specified limits of the trailer load, or the tow vehicle.
Adjust loads to attain suggested tongue weight.
Overloading behind the rear axle can cause undue sway and backlash.
Authentic trailer tires are recommended because of the different rigors they go through. Car tires are not recommended for trailers.
Pa. State Registration requires a yearly inspection of all trailers over 3000 GWV, and must have brakes on all wheels.
MORE INFORMATION
Make sure the trailer hitch and ball are secure on the towing vehicle.
Make sure all bolts and nuts are secure on the trailer receiver.
Any time the trailer comes in contact with salt water, hose down, or wash, as soon as possible.
Oil, or spray-grease, the shackles and linkage regularly for optimum performance.
Safety chains and brake cable must be intact.
Replace rotted boards, rotted bunks or broken rollers when applicable.
PERSONAL ABILITY
If you have any doubts about your trailer's performance and are not sure your skills are adequate to complete the proper repairs, do not hesitate to take your trailer to a trained specialist for reliable work. Their experienced mechanics will accomplish the appropriate repairs in order to assure you of a safe and enjoyable outing.


Some of the above information was obtained from Central Garage and Reading Boat Works. Both are approved Pa. Trailer Inspection facilities.

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Dog Days of summer are slowly coming to a close. Water temperatures are starting to drop increasing oxygen content throughout the water column stimulating an increased movement in the ecosystem.
Preparation for the coming cold days is of imminent priority for the whole food chain.
Metabolism is slowly reaching its peak inspiring the aggressive behavior of bass. Crayfish, Baitfish, and other subspecies are performing their last rituals of reproduction before they head back to their deep water sanctuary and in some cases hibernation.
Although bass will feed on just about anything, baitfish takes precedence to all other food sources. Crayfish are a major staple as well and will not be passed up whenever present to these ravenous predators.
Schools of Shad begin migrating from their deep sanctuaries to the shallows and upstream into the backs of creeks and rivers where oxygen rich water provides them with excellent sources of zooplankton and other microorganisms for the rituals of reproduction and feed. Schooling Bass are close behind while resident Bass reap in the benefits of balls of Shad traveling by.
Migration routes on lakes such as Blue Marsh are, but not limited to, old creek channel ledges old canal tow paths, and submerged road beds.
Discrepancies by means of stumps, deadfalls, old foundations, culverts, old bridge abutments, and points around these ledges provide a potential stopover where ambushing prey can occur.
Lowrance Sonar units play a very important role by effectively locating deep water structure giving a better perception of what cannot be seen. The GPS unit effectively helps to relocate deep water structure quickly. Using the old standby of lining up by way of land points will get you on those 'sweet spots' as well.
Aggressive behavior of the Bass offers anglers a vast gauntlet of lure choices and presentations. Now is when your 'strengths' of lure presentation really start to shine. Learning new techniques can enhance your versatility for future outings in different situations.
Deep running crankbaits in shad or crayfish patterns are excellent choices for covering a lot of water in a short time. Cast shallow and reel slowly along the ledges while making sure the lure makes contact with as much of the cover as possible. Spinnerbaits are also a good choice.
Crayfish imitations, in all the Bass Stalker Jig lines, can be worked directly into the heart of the structure and right along the ledges. Tube lures and soft plastics in general will be effective as well.

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