4lb Bowfin out of the ni

[Punkinseedfyretailz]

my brother in law, cousin and i all went to the ni reservoir the other day.  only caught 7 fish total many bites, but no willing takers.  we had to leave the fish finder behind,  so it was hard figuring out what depth we were at, but we managed well enough.  no spawning bass yet that i could tell.  we only spent a couple hours out on the water, but the bite was slow for the first hour until we started to develop a small pattern, the only worthy catch was this bowfin below.  that was caught on a kopper natural bluegin crank.  the rest of the fish were caught on a purple senko wachy rigged and one tx rig senko  catch.  and a perch was caught on a black bomber crank.  all fish were caught under sunken trees coming off the bank. but that pattern died out as quick as it started.  it seemed to be one fish per piece of structure.   

[FL Knifemaker]

Nice Mudder!  Years ago, I had a BIG one hit a spinnerbait on one of the very firsts casts during a tournament.  I was SURE I had "big bass" of the day and I let my partner know that as I fought him to the boat....................

What a shocker when I finally got him in  where I could see him   > 

[egolfer]

That thing is as nasty look as a Snakehead.  My buddy had a 15lber this weekend.  The swimbait was GONE along with the 6/0 hook.  Both were down the gullet... BLEH

[endless]

That thing is as nasty look as a Snakehead. My buddy had a 15lber this weekend. The swimbait was GONE along with the 6/0 hook. Both were down the gullet... BLEH

Did your buddy land it in the boat and if so, got a pic? Not questioning you just would love to see that of a 15 lber. My god got to be a monster!! My biggest for  bowfin is 4.4.

[bigmike74]

have you had a lot of luck at the Ni? Most of the people that I know usually prefer to fish Motts or Hunting Run Park(the new reservoir on Elys Ford Rd. in chancellor). Have you fished these other two reservoirs and how would you compare them to the Ni?

[osbornj2]

Punkin - nice one!

I've always wanted to catch a bowfin, as I understand that they're pretty scrappy little fighters!  I couldn't imagine what a 15lber would do to a bass rod!

A buddy and I are headed up that way (Fredericksburg) for some business stuff early next week, and we are dragging my boat with us! I have been dying to fish Motts Run ever since I read about it and about the Northern Pike. 

We also thought about hitting Hunting Run...any thoughts, ideas, or suggestions???

We're gonna be fairly limited timewise, so we were thinking about Motts on Monday afternoon until closing, then getting up early and hitting sunrise at Hunting? 

Any and all comments will be appreciated!

[GLADES]

Tons of mudfish down here in south florida, especially in the hotter summer months.

[Punkinseedfyretailz]

sorry took so long to write back.  well as far as pike goes you can't beat motts, for sheer quality and not just pike, bass and anyother game fish in there have a higher size per catch ratio than these other waters.   the ni reservoir has some big pickerel and bass in there, but few and far between same with hunting run.  hunting run has the numbers though, lots and lots of fish are pulled out.  but nothing too major although in my last four trips we've to pull out 2 4#s and a 6#.   motts has citation bass come out regularly, but it's a deep reservoir with little structure.  theres a beaver d**n and a sunken island that produce large fish, jigs are great for the bass, and deep diving xraps seem to be a hot lure right now as well, and of course minnows for you pike and or bass crappie and whatever else you want to catch.  make sure to ask the boat guy about the two main structure areas i told you about and you'll do fine.  hunting run,  you cannot beat a wacky worm there, fish go crazy for it, it's not at all uncommon to catch more than 20 bass and just a couple hours of fishing.  i've done damage with my xcalibur foxy mama rattle trap, the pickerel seem to love it too.  lots of grass there though, so the outside edges of these beds are where you'll want to be, you wont even need a fish finder to locate fish, find the grass (which is everywhere) you find fish.  tons of structure in this place.  ni, you'll want to find the lilly pads for your larger pickerel, and even bowfin and bass.  anyways i hope this info helps, enjoy your stay and catch one for me