Another banner day on Croton…
Saturday morning, my friend Lou H. and I hit Croton Reservoir under cold, windy conditions. The air temps didn’t get above 40 all day and the wind was bitter and relentless. Despite the low air temps, water temps remained in the mid-50’s. We were hoping that the bite from the big largemouth we’ve been experiencing for the past few weeks would continue, despite the sharp temperature drops last week. We weren’t disappointed.
After working our way down the shoreline to the Taconic Bridges, we eventually came to a rocky point with a sharp drop to deeper water. This is where I picked up my first fish, a 3.5 lb. LM on a Black/Blue Jig&Pig. While I was unhooking this fish, my partner Lou hooked up with a beautiful bass on a jerkbait that weighed in at just over 5 lbs. We fished around this area a little longer, but with no luck. At this point the wind was really picking up and moving us down the bank. Expecting heavy winds today, I brought the drift sock I use on my bassboat. This was a good move as it made fishing quite a bit easier. We crossed the shore and I picked another 3 lb LM on the Jig, which Lou followed a little later with a 4.2 lb LM on the Jerkbait. These fish were shallow, relating to the inside weed edge in 3-4’ of water.
We then worked our way into a small cove, and I made my move, picking up 3 LM (a 3.3 LM, a 2.8 LM and a 2.1 LM). 2 of these fish came on the Jig&Pig, while the third fish came on an 8” Black Worm. These fish came from both the inside and outside weed edges. At one point, the wind was so strong; it was blowing us down the bank at a pretty good clip. Being a little lazy, I was dragging the jig along the outside weedline when something slammed it. I was sitting down at the time, and I guess did not get the right leverage in my hookset, because after a short fight, he came undone. I never saw him, but he sure felt good. This was one of 2 fish I lost on Saturday.
At this point, we decided to try a completely different area, so we began the long row into the wind. I wanted to try a few areas I had fished 2 weeks ago when I had a 19+ bag. This is when I picked up a gift. While we were rowing, I trolled a crankbait behind the boat and was rewarded with a beautiful 4.5lb SM. This fish fought like a truck and took to the air a few times before I got her in the boat. This was the only smallmouth we caught, but man what a fish! Well, this was the last fish I would boat, but Lou picked up 2 more beauties on the Jig&Pig. He caught a 4.5 lb LM and 4 lb LM, both on the inside weedline. I did lose another fish; again because I was sitting down as Lou rowed along the shore. I got a bite on the Jig&Pig, but didn’t get a good hookset and this fish, probably a 2 pounder, came to the surface and tossed the hook. Anyway, I’m not complaining. The final tally on the day was 11 bass in the boat. I had 7, with my best 5 weighing 17.4 pounds while Lou still topped me with only 4 bass for 17.7 pounds. Not bad for a cold, windy November day.
Keith
Saturday morning, my friend Lou H. and I hit Croton Reservoir under cold, windy conditions. The air temps didn’t get above 40 all day and the wind was bitter and relentless. Despite the low air temps, water temps remained in the mid-50’s. We were hoping that the bite from the big largemouth we’ve been experiencing for the past few weeks would continue, despite the sharp temperature drops last week. We weren’t disappointed.
After working our way down the shoreline to the Taconic Bridges, we eventually came to a rocky point with a sharp drop to deeper water. This is where I picked up my first fish, a 3.5 lb. LM on a Black/Blue Jig&Pig. While I was unhooking this fish, my partner Lou hooked up with a beautiful bass on a jerkbait that weighed in at just over 5 lbs. We fished around this area a little longer, but with no luck. At this point the wind was really picking up and moving us down the bank. Expecting heavy winds today, I brought the drift sock I use on my bassboat. This was a good move as it made fishing quite a bit easier. We crossed the shore and I picked another 3 lb LM on the Jig, which Lou followed a little later with a 4.2 lb LM on the Jerkbait. These fish were shallow, relating to the inside weed edge in 3-4’ of water.
We then worked our way into a small cove, and I made my move, picking up 3 LM (a 3.3 LM, a 2.8 LM and a 2.1 LM). 2 of these fish came on the Jig&Pig, while the third fish came on an 8” Black Worm. These fish came from both the inside and outside weed edges. At one point, the wind was so strong; it was blowing us down the bank at a pretty good clip. Being a little lazy, I was dragging the jig along the outside weedline when something slammed it. I was sitting down at the time, and I guess did not get the right leverage in my hookset, because after a short fight, he came undone. I never saw him, but he sure felt good. This was one of 2 fish I lost on Saturday.
At this point, we decided to try a completely different area, so we began the long row into the wind. I wanted to try a few areas I had fished 2 weeks ago when I had a 19+ bag. This is when I picked up a gift. While we were rowing, I trolled a crankbait behind the boat and was rewarded with a beautiful 4.5lb SM. This fish fought like a truck and took to the air a few times before I got her in the boat. This was the only smallmouth we caught, but man what a fish! Well, this was the last fish I would boat, but Lou picked up 2 more beauties on the Jig&Pig. He caught a 4.5 lb LM and 4 lb LM, both on the inside weedline. I did lose another fish; again because I was sitting down as Lou rowed along the shore. I got a bite on the Jig&Pig, but didn’t get a good hookset and this fish, probably a 2 pounder, came to the surface and tossed the hook. Anyway, I’m not complaining. The final tally on the day was 11 bass in the boat. I had 7, with my best 5 weighing 17.4 pounds while Lou still topped me with only 4 bass for 17.7 pounds. Not bad for a cold, windy November day.
Keith
