Varner report and my return to fishing after some time off

[Randall]

Took a some time off from fishing this month. Went on vacation to visit my family in NC, went to my 20 year HS class renunion, and spent some time at home letting a couple medical conditions heal up. I did fish a tournament at Varner earlier in the month on a 90+ degree day with no wind but after knowing what one other team had (around 25lbs)we just tossed our fish back with no real reason to weigh them or keep them in the live well any longer.

So after nearly a month with almost no fishing I went out to Varner looking to put a hurting on some fish since the whole time I was not fishing someone would call me and tell me how the fish at Varner were just tearing it up better than they have in three years. Well we didn't get any monsters but between the largemouth and the hybrids we had around forty fish with probably ten fish of each species over four pounds. For everybody who is tired of hearing me complain about the shad population and all the hybrids you will not have to hear me complain for a while anyway since the shad are starting to make a comback and the fish are feeding again. Right now is a good time though to thin out the hybrids while they are feeding and easy to catch. I am doing my part on hybrid population reduction.  

The hybrids were mostly in the area around the big point past the island up the right arm all the way up to where the lakes get less then 10 feet deep. At times they pushed the shad shallow and were hitting them right on the bank. We got most of the fish on small topwaters but also got a few on four inch senkos, flukes, and small swimbaits. We talked to a few other guys who caught them up near the bridge (left arm) on rattletraps and we caught a few trolling rattle traps after they stopped hitting on top.

There a bunch of big gizzards and small bass in the lake. As long as the wind blows a little they will hit the Bull Shad and Mattlures Hard Bass swimbaits. Most of our bigger fish including the three in the photo hit big swimbaits. We also caught some on a bunch of other baits fished over and in the grass. Frogs, toads, topwaters, buzzbaits, chatterbaits, tubes, senkos, worms, jigs, etc. will all work right now. It's just a matter of finding where and how the fish are holding and feeding from day to day in all that grass. And there is a lot of it there and the whole lake right now has both feeding fish and grass.

[burleytog]

I've been wondering where you've been.

[Mattlures]

Good to see you back Randall. Ha ha I have to go to my 20 year next year. Your old! he he

Kill all those hybrids!!! I bet they taist good. You have a special lake there and its good that YOU know how to protect it.

[roadwarrior]

Good to have you back!  

Great pic, too!

8-)

[senile1]

Nice to get a report from you, Randall.  Hybrids are fun!  Do you have any pictures of the white fish?

[Paul Roberts]

I was wondering about you too. Good to have you back.

[Fishing Rhino]

Took a some time off from fishing this month. Went on vacation to visit my family in NC, went to my 20 year HS class renunion,

I took last week off from fishing because of my fiftieth HS reunion.

Glad I did. One of my former classmates lives in Oregon near excellent salmon and halibut fishing. Got an invite to go whenever I'd like.

Another now has a home in Yarmouth, on Cape Cod. I knew Cape Cod had a lot of kettle ponds, but not the 356 that he said dotted the cape.

He took up fishing a couple of years ago. He can get info on the various ponds as well as the Bass River.

What was a fishing free week took a turn for the better.

I know right where Douglasville is. Pass through it on I-20 whenever we go to visit our daughter in Temple.

[Steven Ladner]

Some nice fish Randall, glad your back on the water

[Randall]

Nice to get a report from you, Randall. Hybrids are fun! Do you have any pictures of the white fish?

Thanks. I can get whats left of them out of the freezer and take some if you would like.  ;D