Woody B

I caught 6 today at Mountain Island Lake. I've never been there before. Mountain Island is between Lake Norman and Lake Wylie on the Catawba river. I've been to most of the Catawba river lakes (all the NC ones) but I'd never been to Mountain Island. It's ~3300 acres. What's strange to me, the water is quite a bit clearer than Lake Wylie, and also 3 degrees warmer. (I was at the Lake Wylie side of the Mountain Island dam Saturday). I caught 5 of the 6 (all spots, I haven't caught a Largemouth is a few weeks) dragging a Carolina rigged craw across points. The other was on a lipless crank, under a dock. I didn't measure any. They were all pretty much the same size. (14 inch range?) I went from dam to dam on the lake. I never saw a BIG school of shad on sonar. I have heard bad things about the landing. A friend of a friend had his catalytic convertor cut off there last year. There was fresh looking broken glass from vehicle break ins all over the landing. (probably people who were night fishing) I took a picture of the Lake Norman Dam. I should have taken one of the other end of the lake. I enjoyed seeing and fishing in a new lake. In the future I'll probably just go to Lake Wylie or Lake Norman instead of the in between lake. I think I'm done for the year. I "could" sneak in a short trip but I've got family/Christmas stuff for the next 2 weekends. My Dads 88th birthday is the 31st so I'll spend that day with him. I'll probably go to Lake Wylie Jan1. I've included a picture of the Lake Wylie side of the Mtn Island dam I took a few months ago.

If it's a similar hull to yours how stable is yours when you stand in it. That and the weight would be my concern. I'm not a boat expert. In my mind extra weight "could" do a few things. "Could" the weight up high make the boat unstable, or will weight make it more stable? Obviously weight will use more motor and battery. As long as it don't sit too low in the water, and you've got enough motor/battery it should be fine. Bring your boat up here to NC for a couple weeks and we'll "deck it out". FWIW my boat (Tracker Classic XL) is basically a jon boat made into a bass boat at the factory.

Last year was the first year I had fished during the Winter. I struggled some. I've struggled the last 2 weeks this year. I talked to a friend last night. He said I was making too big of a deal/overthinking Winter. The water temp is 55 hear. The lowest I saw it last year was 46. I don't fish any rivers, just reservoirs. Last week the few I caught were at the dam, but the lake side of the dam. Yesterday I went up the lake, away from the dam. I only caught 1 but I didn't go all the way to the other dam.

I kinda didn't get skunked today. I had 1 dink fall off the hook and flip back into the lake when I boat flipped it. It was on my deck for a few seconds. Bass ran from my "special" Alabama rig. I had it rigged with 4 swim baits and 1 chatterbait. They literally ran from it on sonar. I lost a HUGE catfish. I caught on back in April that was 45 inches long. This one was bigger. I hooked it on a "normal" Alabama rig. Like most cats it just wanted to hug the bottom under the boat. I kept moving the boat and it would swim back right under it. I finally got it to the boat but it took off again. It was hooked on 2 of the swimbaits. I upgraded to 17 pound line (instead of my "normal" 12) for the A-rig. I knew it was hooked good, and knew my line was stronger than I was used to so I decided to horse it a little to try and tire it quicker. I was pulling it up a little and my line went limp. It had straightened the hooks of 2 swimbaits. I tried everything today. Bass would follow various lures but just wouldn't bite. I even switched hats a couple times. I'll try again tomorrow.

Occasionally. It gets overfished during the summer. It's 1500 acres. They have a tournament every Thursday night from March to October that usually has 30 or 40 boats in it. The last several times I've been there all the bass I caught had previous hook holes in their mouths.

I told myself I should quit drinking.....but I don't listen to drunks.

I can't tell you....it's a secret. Honestly, I don't keep secrets. There's a bunch of people who catch more and bigger bass than I do but I'll share anything with anyone. People have shared all kinds of stuff with me over the years that have helped me greatly. (not just fishing stuff but all aspects of life). I don't even have any secret locations. My pictures are geo cached. (if that comes through when I upload them here) A few months ago a co worker/friend was fishing at the same lake I was at. We kept texting him fish pictures, but they weren't catching any. I sent him a location on the map where I always catch bass. Myself and Mrs B spot locked on the location but didn't fish. When he got there we moved 50 yards away and watched him and his neighbor catch several nice bass. I understand people keeping fishing secrets, especially tournament people. That's one of the reason I won't fish tournaments. Added: I have a secret lure configuration I'm going to use today. IF I catch any bass with it I'll tell what it is. If I don't catch any I won't. That will keep y'all from laughing if it doesn't work.

Others suggestion to seek professional counseling is a great idea.

I hope I don't jinx myself. I don't usually talk about a trip before I go. My catch rate has slowed since the water cooled down so I'm going to try some new (to me) stuff tomorrow. I've got a "special" Alabama rig. I will only tell how it's rigged if I catch at least 1 bass on it. On the other end of the (weight) spectrum I'm going to try a ned rig. My last 3 trips I've seen a bunch of bass on sonar, basically ignoring everything I've thrown. It's time to try something different.

I'm on Grover NC, ~40 miles west of Charlotte. My daughter works in Fort Mill. I never fish tournaments but you're welcome to tag along with me sometime. I mostly fish Lake Wylie. I see, and talk to a few of the local club guys at the landing occasionally. I'll ask if any need a co angler next time I see them.

Do you know who does the tagging? I haven't caught a tagged fish but there's signs at the landings on one lake I fish that ask you to photograph, weight and release the fish is possible and call a certain phone number to report it.

Yep, I'm an automotive technician. There's stuff on youtube that's outright scary, and even dangerous.

I got over my respiratory virus pretty quick. I've got a recurring ear infection. Maybe not an "infection" but my right ear get's stopped up. It will be plugged for a few days, then get better. It's back now for the 3rd time.

Disclaimer, I was a lifetime Braves fan. I quit watching when MLB went woke. Has any player who got huge money ever live up to the expectations? It seems like baseball keeps paying player for what they've done, not what they're going to do. A-Rod had good numbers as a Yankee, but he choked every year during the playoffs. Other players seemed to be at their best during the playoffs. I believe Pujols is the best player in my lifetime. I know many players went to the AL later in their careers due to the DH. I think Pujols would have had a chance at Hank Aarons (real) homerun record had he stayed with Saint Louis. (not blaming him for leaving) Many of his Saint Louis home runs would have bounced off the wall or been caught on the warning track in Angels stadium. He only had 3 years as an Angel where he hit more home runs than he did in St Louis in 2022.

I'm not one to watch videos. However, humility and gratitude are 2 traits that most successful people have. When I see someone bragging, or complaining I see insecurity.

It really hurts to lose a pet. Remember, dogs don't die. They just run ahead to heaven and wait.

Location is a big one for me. I mostly fish Lake Wylie. (pause while I'm doing math). I've fished 6 different lakes this year. 4 of them (including Lake Wylie) are Catawba river lakes. (Lake James, Lake Rhodhiss, Lake Norman and Lake Wylie) Moss Lake is a 1500 acre lake closest to my house. It's overfished, especially during the Summer. There's a limited number of spots that hold fish, and many times someone is already fishing them. The other lake I went to this year was Lake Jocassee. I want to go to Santee Cooper sometime. It's ~3 hours or so for me. I've got a sister in law that lives near lake Hartwell. I want to go there sometime too. My oldest grandson is now in college near Lake Murray. Myself and his Dad are going there one weekend sometime. I've been to Santee, and Hartwell but it's been decades. Mountain Island lake is on the Catawba river between Lake Norman and Lake Wylie. I've never been there. I'm considering going there this weekend. The ramp I normally use at Lake Wylie is temporarily closed. I hate the other ramp that's close for me. It's way too flat, and usually crowded. Most of the cleats are broke off the docks too.

The neighbor has no right to talk to a kid, (or anyone else) that way. I have to ask. Where were the dogs? Were they on your property? I have a little over an acre fenced in for my dogs. They never leave my property.

I can use bottom contact lure correctly but I have a hard time slowing down moving baits. Occasionally I change to a lower speed reel.

I like my yolotek mount. So far I've kept it and the trees from having an altercation.

Bad neighbors are the worst. Most of my neighbors are great, but I had 1 for a while. I do have to tell my neighbor/dogs barking joke. My neighbors stole my beagles out of my back yard and put him in their back yard. They wanted me to know what it was like to live next to someone who's dogs barked all night.

FWIW I'm not superstitious. It's bad luck to be superstitious.

Baking soda is an accelerator for super glue. I use it for minor cuts at work. Be careful though, the reaction generates some heat. To much and you'll have a burn as well as a cut.

My rods are on the deck. Mrs. B's in stored under the casting deck. I had carpet on the deck extension that matched the carpet on the rest of the boat. The plywood warped up really bad. I got a new piece of plywood and sprayed it with bedliner instead of carpet. It doesn't look as good but it's not warping.

Ever since @ol'crickety said I was consistent I've been struggling to catch bass. LOL. Before last year I've never fished past October (except for some November fishing in Florida) or before March. This cold water fishing is fairly new to me. I have managed to catch bass every month this year, and every week except for 1. I caught 5 yesterday in 4 hours. I didn't measure any. 2 were the size of the one pictured. Maybe 14 inches. The water temp is 55 degrees. Not really COLD, but it's cooled 7 degrees in the last 3 weeks, and 1 degree since from Saturday until Sunday. I suppose their metabolism has slowed. I caught 4 slow rolling a spinnerbait, the other on a Carolina rig with a purple worm. The lake was cleaner...most of the floating stuff was gone. On a side note. My Grandfather would have been 108 Sunday.