Colorado River Guide Blog

Still attempting to get my act together on the BassMaster Invitational Circuit I headed to the Arkansas River last month to fish the first Invitational of the Central Division. The section of river we were able to fish was about 100 miles long. Like last year I chose to fish the southern portion of tournament waters. It was my intentions to fish backwaters and creeks being that it was Fall and that the shad would be back in the creeks spawning again with the bass along with them.

This never fail Fall pattern proved to hold up again as I found a good load of fish back in a main creek. The creek was textbook: deep, with timber, with milfoil, with coontail, with lilly pads, and with small tributaries draining into it. I fished these fish for two days during heavy rain trying to figure out the best way to catch them. Normally I would have just figured that out during the tournament but in this case time was a major factor. These fish took two hours to reach one way so fishing time totaled about three and a half hours. Even late into the second day with all of the rain the water remained clear and it seemed that the runoff was not going to change the water clarity. There was so much aquatic vegetation that I figured any major runoff would be filtered by the matted thick grass that choked the creek.

With my “ace in the hole” fish located I went north for the third day and practiced near the harbor. The tournament would run out of the harbor and it is always good to have a few fish located there just in case.

At the pairings meeting on Wednesday night I drew a guy from Kentucky for the first day. We agreed to head South to my fish the next day. So far so good.

The next morning we leave out in Flight 2C right on time and we are headed out the harbor when we hit a wall of fog just before we reach the Arkansas River. The fog was so thick that we could barely see the front of the boat. Fortunately we were near the bank so we at least had a landmark. My partner said he had a creek nearby that he had caught fish in during practice, so we idled to it. We did not have many other choices being that it was too dangerous to travel in the fog with 152 other tournament boats on the water not to mention the spectator boats, barges, and rock dikes lining the river and harbor.

We stayed in the harbor all day and I caught a limit of fish. I felt confident about the day but knew I could have done better down south on my backwater fish. Anyway I was off to a good start and was in the top 50. My partner for the second day agreed to go South and fish my fish.

We left out Friday morning in Flight 1B and headed down river on our two hour journey. Travel time is only one hour but to go that far South you have to lock down twice which take about a half hour each.

After the second lock it was about thirty five minutes to my fish. I shaved the corners of the river, ran on the insides of the channel buoys, and screamed by the ends of rock dikes trying to cut the distance down a bit in order to get there faster. We turned off of the river and headed into the creek running wide open all the way, I could not wait to get there. During that time I totally forgot about the tournament and all I wanted to do was to get there and enjoy the awesome fishing that was in store for us. As I neared the back of the creek and began to slow an ice cold chill hit me as I realized the water was the muddier than Trinity Bay on a North wind. I quickly looked around and knew this place was impossible in the time that we had to fish. I picked up a spinnerbait made several casts trying to figure out what to do. My partner a very knowledgeable bass fisherman from Oregon agreed that it was hopeless in the time that we had.

Between the second day of practice and the second day of the tournament two days had passed and enough run-off had drained into the creek and ruined the entire backwater. Sure the fish were still there but muddy water initially sickens the fish and makes them lull and not bite. You can still get reaction bites if you get your bait close to them. Well actually the fish in this situation were new to me because I had never fished for bass in water that was this muddy. It was not off color or stained it was rolling mud. Anytime I had ever encountered water that was this muddy I would just go someplace else and fish. This was my key area that was ruined but I did have two lesser backup areas. We fished them and scrambled up a couple of fish each for the day but my expectations were no where near fulfilled.

The third day treated me worse than the second and I fell out of the hunt but I also relearned an old lesson. The lesson being don’t count your chickens before they hatch. I thought that I had a for sure honey hole down in that backwater and my plan backfired with me not ever even considering a back up plan. So in a sense I was not mentally prepared because I had not thought out alternatives for all of the possible situations. Looking back it is as simple as pie, you have to roll with the punches and roll with the weather that Mother Nature deals out. You have to get “into the flow” of Mother Nature. I was obviously no where near the “flow” in this tournament.

In tournament bass fishing there are always variables that can help you be a hero or cause you to be a zero. At any rate my learning continues and I’ll start the whole tournament process over in Georgia late this month at Lake Hartwell.

Also, a special congratulations to my friend and traveling partner Brian Utecht for finishing up in 12th place in Arkansas Tournament. Brian’s fish held up through all of the rain and he mastered three baits during the tournament to coax his fish into biting in a twenty yard stretch of shoreline. Good job Bro.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Mohave

Living on Lake Livingston for the past six years has lead me to several understandings about bass fishing and this lake itself….change. Because of the “change” that I am referring to this lake sometimes gets a bad rap from bass fishermen who visit it occasionally. Being that the massive Trinity River feeds this lake and that there are a number of substantial feeder creeks, change is common. Rainfall is the most dominating factor of change for Lake Livingston. Heavy rains north of the lake along the Trinity River, including as far north as the Dallas area can almost demolish efforts to catch black bass on the north end of the lake. Heavy local rains can dirty up the creek backs and within a few days a whole creek can be unfishable. The bad rap from fishermen comes from when they visit the lake and catch fish, some given time they come back under the same conditions but rains have moved their fish up or down the creek in search of clear water. Their prior information is almost worthless and locating fish starts over.

Learning to deal with this lake is really very simple however you have to consider the whole lake to understand it. The easiest black bass to catch are in the major feeder creeks, smaller tributaries, and ditches that feed both. In these areas the fish that are in the clearest emerald green water are the ones that I target. My information is somewhat biased because I live on the north end of the lake where rainfall affects the lake most. The creeks on the north end are long and some of them can be traveled for miles. This allows for bodies of clear water even during periods of heavy rainfall.

Rule 1. Local rainfall dirties up the backs of the creeks first and then water moves toward the mainlake at a speed relevant to the amount of rainfall. If there is a heavy rainfall then the main channel of the creek may be wiped out, however up and down the creek there are small ditches and draws holding pockets of clearwater. These ditches and draws hold clear water even though the creek they feed is dirty because they receive very little run off and/or there is a silted in sandbar at their mouth that acts as a buffer to the dirty water.

Rule 2. Heavy rains upriver will bring muddy water down and cause the river, the jungle, and much of the main lake above the 190 bridge to be off color. If the major creeks were in good shape to start with they will remain that way unless the river just keeps pumping in some astronomical amount of muddy water. Sure the river and main lake will be dirty and the off colored water will trying to push into the creeks but most of the creeks are lengthy. The off colored water usually does not push very far into the bigger creeks unless the lake is on severe rise and even if it is it takes time and is not something that happens to a big creek overnight.

Rule 3. If the lake has been in good shape and suddenly there are heavy local rains and there is dirty water on the way down the river from heavy rains up north there will be some fishable water. Somewhere between the mainlake and the backs of the creeks there will be bodies of clear water in the creek channels along with pockets of clear water in the ditches and feeder creeks. This clear water may be temporary but is usually loaded with bass seeking clean water.

There are hundred of scenarios we could draw up and have rules for. These three rules are very general, however they are very true and given to you through my own experience living here on the lake.

Last November when the BassMaster Tournament Trail came to this lake it was just after the major flood that we had in October. The lake had been flooded and had not recovered from the heavy rains. Rick Clunn summed up the lake evaluation during the tournament by saying, “What the rains have done is made a very large lake very, very small.” Meaning that all of the BassMasters were concentrated in the clear water pockets that were scattered up and down the lake.

During periods and rainfall, clear water with a dark emerald green color is the ticket. This lake is an excellent lake to fish during the Fall. Most of the tournament trails are complete except for the classic in a few trails and this would be a good time to make a trip to Lake Livingston and practice flipping, cranking, spinnerbaiting, and topwater.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Mohave

With the hottest portion of the summer well under way bass anglers are still trying new and old techniques to draw strikes. The climax of summer marks a difficult time to be on the water after largemouths. The wind has laid, the sun beats down, and the sticky humidity makes fishing a little less comfortable than an easy chair under the air condition. However, there are many of us diehards that are always out there trying to fool one more bass.

Many techniques have come and gone and repeated themselves earlier this year. Crankbaiting, Carolina Rigging, Topwater, Spinnerbaits, and various others. All of these techniques shine at one time or other and many work almost all the time. This time of year bass prefer a slow moving bait due to the high water temperatures. Lake Conroe’s structure fishing for bass is dominated by the Carolina Rig.

There have been several new products come about to enhance this fish catching method. in the past I have picked up on a few tricks to Carolina Rigging. Using twenty to twenty five pound test line reduced break offs when hung up. The heavy line also held up much better than lighter line during the aggressive hooksets that Carolina Rigging requires. Obviously, bigger fish are not as serious a threat when using heavy line. Using a slightly less pound test line as the leader would decrease the loss of the complete rig when the hook was hung up. The leader line would break before the mainline sparing the weight, bead, and barrel swivel. A seven foot, heavy action rod made casting long leaders a cinch and hooksets on long casts bit easier.

There are many other tricks to enhancing the Carolina Rig and gear to fish them. The heavy monofilament was satisfactory to me until I tried some of these new braided lines. I say “new” braided lines meaning a new type of braided line. Braided lines have been around for years, yet not made from materials like Kevlar, Dacron, or polyethylene.

In the articles that I have read the lines have been complimented on the impact they have had on jig fishing and flipping heavy cover.

I have been using Fenwick’s Tron Thread which is thirty pound test with a diameter of ten pound test monofilament. The multi-filament fishing line has some unique characteristics that seem to cater to Carolina Rigging. Iron Thread has a “stretch factor,, of 7.6%. Monofilament has an average “stretch factor” of 25%. So basically, the line will stretch 1/5 less on a hookset when using braided line. This means that the hook will penetrate within the first couple of feet of the hookset using braided line rather than at the end of the hookset when using monofilament. An adequate hookset can be obtained with a shorter arc of the rod and with less power.

Being that Iron Thread has a low “stretch factor” there is more feel to the line. In other words the line does not stretch to absorb light strikes and bottom features like monofilament. Sensitivity is one of the keys to Carolina Rigging and the multi-filament magnifies bottom features and light strikes.

Another enhancement is various noise making devises within the rig. Don Iovino’s Brass and Glass which is brass weights and glass beads designed to make a clicking sound when the brass weight engages with the glass bead.

The latest Carolina Rigging accessory designed after a proven fish attracting principal is a product from Big Cat. Big Cat introduced rattling weights which are available in popular Carolina Rigging sizes. The weights have an appoxy capsule portion with 8-10 lead beads that rattle inside the chamber to create a real racket. The weights produce excessive amounts of noise when fished through brush and rocks. Each time the weight drops off of a branch or rock it falls to bottom or another structure causing the rattles to make noise and attract fish. The weights have become popular with guides and tournament angler’s who are always looking for ways to catch more fish than competitors.

These new products are interesting and extremely advantageous to use. Soon we will all be using these products just to keep up with new standards and competition on the water. About the time we all get used to these new products and start to take them for granted someone will discover a new improvement that caters to Carolina Rigging.

Until then, good luck fishing and remember to apply a powerful sunscreen and carry plenty of water when fishing through the “Dog Days”.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Mohave

By now most of us have had experience with the new versions of braided line. Opinions of the line vary from each fisherman of its uses and applications. Many fishermen use the line for a few special techniques and use monofilament for the rest of their fishing. After being on the market for a couple of years the craze for braided line has subsided somewhat. At first it seemed as though the braided line would end every fishermans worst nightmare of breaking a fish off. For some fishermen this may be the case but for myself and many other fisherman that I have talked to, it was not as “bullet proof” as we percieved it to be. Now I am certainly not advocating that braided line is weak I am just referring to some of the realities of fishing braided line through experiences of many fishermen. And through this type of communication you may be able to pick up tips as I have to give you more success with braided line and monofilament.

Like the rest of the middle-aged and younger fishermen I grew up fishing monofilament. Developing confidence in the monofilament took years. Not just having confidence in the line itself but confidence in my selection of the right pound test for each method of fishing. Also learning to push the limits of the line when leaning on fish or trying to overpower one around timber was not something that could be learned overnight. I think for these very reasons I hear so many various comments, positive and negative about braided line. It has only been a few years since braided line has been on the market and fishermen have used the line long enough to comment on the line through experience.

Of course we know that braided line has very little stretch ,is extremely strong,and thin in diameter. Automatically flipping and pitching a jig or Texas Rig comes to my mind because of the powerful hooksets that come with this territory. My problem when I first started using braided line for these techniques is that when I got bit I would resort to my old monofilament eye crossing hookset. The first few times I broke the hook of my Texas Rig right at the kink shank of my worm hook. On another hookset I broke the reel seat and sent the reel slamming through the first two eyes of my rod. Finally learning that I could get the same result by using a milder hookeset with braided line I began to have successful hookups without tearing up tackle. However at times I would catch myself setting the hook too hard with braided line and something would give, whether it be the hook, my rod, or the line itself. One way to solve this problem is to have the drag set so that even if you set the hook extremely hard it will let out some line to compensate for the power.

Using braided line on the Carolina Rig has been my favorite use of the line yet. Being that the line has very little stretch the bottom features are not absorbed in the line and you can feel every detail and feature of the bottom. The line is so sensitive that it seems as though you can hear the features through your hands. Using a fifteen to twenty pound test monofilament leader when Carolina Rigging has been common among fishermen using braided line. The monofilament leader takes some of the shock out of the hookset and gives you just a little more of a threshold when you are detecting a strike. Also if you hang the rig up on the bottom the monofilament will break first if the hook is hung and all you have to do is add a leader and hook rather than start all over.

Many fishermen use the thin diameter of the braided line for getting crankbaits to dive to deeper depths. Using braided line in these situations is like changing to a new kind of rod or reel, cranking with braided line is so much different than with monofilament. Relying on the stretch of monofilament and the shock absorbing recovery of a fiberglass rod is a confidence in me that would be hard to replace with the tricks of braided line.

Braided line can fit into your arsenal somewhere no matter what type of fisherman you are. I tend to drift back and forth from monofilament and braided line in a few situations but have confidence in both. Definitely some of the new generation of young fishermen who are raised on braided line will use it exclusively and probably uncover some new techniques by doing so.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Mohave

Current Water Conditions: As of January 20 the lake is in great shape in comparison to this time last year. The water is up around normal pool which is what we desperately needed for the spawns this spring. Upper lake is a little off color due to the rainfall that we have had but as always there are clear pockets to be found holding fish. Water temp is varying around 60 degrees and if this continues or perhaps the water gets even warmer this month could be incredible.

Black Bass: 1/4 to 3/8 oz Stanley Rattling Jigs in black with a black no. 11 pork frog is going to be hard to beat this month. A Texas rigged black/chartreuse tail lizard is another top choice. Fish timber and rocks in five feet of water or less and try to find water that has a greenish tint.

White Bass: The conditions are currently perfect for the white bass run. If conditions stay the same as far as rainfall goes this could be the best run in about four years. Two years ago we had too much rain and last year we did not have enough. White bass like a little flow over the shoals before they will spawn in full force, lets hope the conditions are good this year. Livingston is a premiere white bass fishery and this could be a colossal year for the lake with the current conditions. Roadrunner jigs in white and chartreuse are the ticket this month up the creeks. Carolina, Bethy, Harmon, Nelson, and Bedias are all hot spots this month.

Catfish: Shad, nightcrawlers, dough bait, and chicken liver are working will for catfish. Fish the banks after the rains and the river and creek channels other times.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Mohave

Current Water Conditions: Overall the lake is in good shape with the majority of the north end being very fishable right now. White Rock and Caney have some fishable water as well as parts of Carolina and Harmon. Running the creeks and looking for clear water is the ticket on the north end and looking for the warmest water possible will also help in your black bass pursuit.

Black Bass: A 1/4 oz Stanley jig with a number 11 pork frog is the number one bait for bass this month. They will be holding tight to structure and not in a real aggressive mode for the most part. Slowing down your bait to match their sluggish attitude will definitely help you land a few largemouth’s. If you are a tournament fisherman this is a good time of the year to work on the jig bite. Slow rolling a spinnerbait is also a productive tactic.

White Bass: It is almost time to start busting them up the creeks. Late this month and all next month the whites will be making their annual run. All of the feeder creeks and tributaries way up the river will be loaded with whites. Stripers also are caught during this run so have your drag set to handle one of the big fish if you are lucky enough to hook one.

Crappie: Most of the marinas are reporting good catches of crappie in 15-20 feet of water on minnows and jigs. Brush piles and standing timber producing most of the sac-o-lait.

Catfish: Shad, nightcrawlers, dough bait, and chicken liver are working well for catfishing. A little rise in the water level will get the catfish feeding in the shallow water flats and along the main river channel in the jungle.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Mohave

Current Water Conditions: Overall the lake is in good shape with the majority of the north end being very fishable right now. White Rock and Caney have some fishable water as well as parts of Carolina and Harmon. Running the creeks and looking for clear water is the ticket on the north end and looking for the warmest water possible will also help in your black bass pursuit.

Black Bass: A 1/4 oz Stanley jig with a number 11 pork frog is the number one bait for bass this month. They will be holding tight to structure and not in a real aggressive mode for the most part. Slowing down your bait to match their sluggish attitude will definitely help you land a few largemouth’s. If you are a tournament fisherman this is a good time of the year to work on the jig bite. Slow rolling a spinnerbait is also a productive tactic.

White Bass: It is almost time to start busting them up the creeks. Late this month and all next month the whites will be making their annual run. All of the feeder creeks and tributaries way up the river will be loaded with whites. Stripers also are caught during this run so have your drag set to handle one of the big fish if you are lucky enough to hook one.

Crappie: Most of the marinas are reporting good catches of crappie in 15-20 feet of water on minnows and jigs. Brush piles and standing timber producing most of the sac-o-lait.

Catfish: Shad, nightcrawlers, dough bait, and chicken liver are working well for catfishing. A little rise in the water level will get the catfish feeding in the shallow water flats and along the main river channel in the jungle.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Mohave

Largemouth bass are spawning all over the lake. The trick is finding water clear enough to sight fish them. The backs of Bethy, Harmon, Carolina, Caney, and White Rock all have some pockets way in the back where you can find and see bass on the bed.

Stanley new Tuba Tube has been my number one producer for the sight fishing that I have been doing.

The buzzbait bite is strong early on the lake right now and should continue all spring. The best bite on the buzzbait is naturally early and late, but the bite can go all day in over cast conditions.

Stanleys ¼ oz buzzbait in white or chartreuse is the best one to throw.

Berkley Power Worms in red shad are always a good choice here for bass holding on visible cover.
Target fishing the shoreline cover like rocks, laydowns, stumps, boat docks, and reeds is a strong pattern with a 5/16 oz Stanley Jig. Black/blue, black/chartreuse, and white are the three jig colors that I mainly throw here at Livingston.

White bass fishing has been excellent on Bedias, Nelson, and Harmon creeks. Rat-L-Traps in chrome blue back are a top choice as well as any topwater bait when they are schooling.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Mohave

There are a number of different patterns for black bass on Lake Conroe right now. A number of fish are spawning throughout the lake. Caney, Little Lake, Atkins, Lewis, and Live Branch are some of the creeks that I have been hitting and finding bass on the bed in the backs of all of these creeks.

The new Stanley Tuba Tube has been my top choice for the spawning bass.

The shallow bite from 0 to 5 feet of water in the backs of these same creeks has been good on the Stanley Platinum Wedge ¼ oz spinnerbait. The best colors in this bait are golden bream and chartreuse white combination. The double willow gold bladed spinnerbait has been a productive bait for me and my customers all spring.

Points have Carolina rig and crankbait fish on them. Most of these fish are post spawn. The bait of choice on the Carolina rig is the Bass Assassin chartreuse pumpkin fry assassin, and the grasshopper fry assassin.

Medium diving crankbaits like the Bandit 200 and 300 series baits chartreuse/blue back, and also the Norman Middle N’s in chartreuse and pearl/green back.

The topwater bite has been good early around shallow docks and rip rap on Rico’s and white buzzbaits.

Wacky worms in junebug, green pumpkin, chartreuse pumpkin, and grasshopper have been effective on the shallow fish. Mustads weedless Finacky hook is the best hook for the wacky worm with its built in 1/32 oz weight attached to the hook shank.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Mohave

This has always been one of my favorite times of year to fish Lake Livingston. The weather has somewhat stabilized and the bass are going to be very predictable and in easy patterns for the rest of the summer. Buzzbaits, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, worms, and jigs are all going to be top producer for the next few months.

The water is really getting clean and the river is already getting that emerald green color which is a sign that fishing is good all over the lake. Up north there is not a stretch of bank that I can think of where there is ample cover that you cannot get a bite. When conditions are good like they are right now this lake shows its true colors.

I live up on Bethy Creek which is about five miles up the river from Carolina Creek , just up the river from Bethy is Harmon Creek. These three are the major creeks for about a ten mile stretch of river above the jungle. All three are excellent for bass and in between the creeks are dozens of small tributaries and small pockets off of the river which all hold good fish. Down in the jungle Caney and White Rock feed in and they are two of the best creeks on the lake.

Don’t be intimidated by Livingston’s size and timber. The river is marked with poles on either side of the river and most of the poles have a red or green sign on them. Remember when traveling upriver keep the red signs on your right and traveling down river to keep the red signs on your left. Red Right Up(RRU) and Red Left Down(RLD). That’s a simple way to keep yourself in the boat lane. The upper end can’t get too rough because there is not that much openwater for the wind to get a hold of. The jungle is an exception however.

As you may know about Livingston the bass remain shallow all year around. During the dog days of summer you can catch bass in two feet of water and less, so think shallow when you fish Livingston.

Fishing the shoreline cover is the best way to catch bass on Lake Livingston. Logs, stumps, reeds, boatdocks, and rocks are some of the best cover to fish. The early late bite is awesome on Livingston but they can be caught all day by concentrating on shallow cover that provides shade for the bass.

The entire lake is full of bass, I am kind of partial to the north end because I live up here. It is going to be a good summer of fishing of Livingston so come out and enjoy it.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Mohave

The line between catching fish and not catching fish is remarkably fine,this line is more prevalently fine when fishing for bass. There is art to catching any fish, especially with black bass. Maybe the art is the same with all freshwater fish but there is no doubt that there is more emphasis put on catching black bass than any other freshwater fish in this part of the country.

Through reading, learning, and hours on the water you can balance yourself on this line so that you consistently catch bass. Initially learning the seasonal patterns and migrations of bass and then on to learning how bass react to the many weather variations. Billions of pages of information could be written to try and explain all of the patterns and how bass relate to weather. What is funny is that some of the best bass fishermen in the world admit to totally understanding very few of these pages. Their performances portray a seemingly total understanding of all of the pages and at times their comprehension seems to exceed these pages. When learning an art such as bass fishing the more that you learn seems to reveal the fact of what you do not know. I break down all of the different techniques, weather conditions, patterns, etc. into individual levels or lines. The lines run from left to right with the left being the simplest form of that subject. Your learning does not always begin here but for most bass fishermen who seek the complete knowledge their learning backs up to the left to where they master the basics of each “line”. The more you learn the further to the right your knowledge carries you on the “line”, however the line is infinite to the right.

This line can also be equated to the line I referred to earlier which is the “fine line” between catching fish and not catching fish. If you deviate from the line you get away from the correct knowledge that lies along this line and suffer the consequences of not catching fish. Getting into the “flow” of Mother Nature can help steer you down this line. Becoming more environmentally conscious when on the water like making sure you leave nothing behind from a day of fishing, increase your awareness by listening to the rhythm of nature(the birds, insects, etc.), and developing a deeper appreciation for the outdoors. These three bits of information would be found way on the left of the “in the flow” line, some of the simplest starting points of this level.

This line level system is a simple way to look at the knowledge that you amass through your fishing experiences. There is no limit to the number of levels in your system and you can label them anything you like. My system goes unwritten but this is the way I perceive the knowledge I have attained throughout my fishing career. Remember there is always another level and one little experience or bit of knowledge can get you to another level where you can advance your understanding of that level information.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Mohave

Anxiously awaiting the first tournament of the 96-97 B.A.S.S. Central Division season on the Arkansas River reminds me of my first B.A.S.S. event. My first event was this same tournament last year on the Arkansas River and what a rough one it was.

My traveling partner and I had located an area full of bass in practice. Quality fish where I felt that I could get an easy limit each day. In a three day tournament a limit a day has got to be your number one goal. Well one draw back to these fish were that they were 65 miles from the tournament headquarters and there were two locks on the river that I would have to lock through to get there. Each lock takes approximately 30 minutes. So I was looking at two hours of travel time one way. As rumor had it many of the fishermen made the run and had success with the limited fishing time on the unpressured fishing areas that were so far away.

I intended to make the run if my partner did not win the toss. Once you meet your partner you have to flip a coin to see who’s boat you take and also to see who’s fish that you go to first. My first day partner was from New Jersey and he was willing to make the run. We left in our flight and started our long run. Two locks and two hours later we pulled into my area. I quickly get the trolling motor down and start fishing. I made a few cast and eased up to a big laydown. I made a cast down each side of the tree and let the spinnerbait fall as it reached the end of the log. No fish, so I picked another target and cast. My partner is flipping a jig and flips into the same laydown I had just fished and sets the hook. A three and a half pounder comes to the boat and into his livewell it went. First of all I was amazed that the fish had not hit my spinnerbait because I know that fish had just seen it and secondly this guy was catching my fish. We fished our way around and this guy catches two more quality fish on the jig fishing behind me, used water. I come off of my game plan and put the spinnerbait down and tie on the exact jig he is throwing.

I pull up to a big tree top in the water on the edge of the bank. I have good position on it so I make about ten casts into every little nook and cranny. No fish, so I pick another target and cast. This “guy” flips in there and sets the hook. A solid fish is in the tree tangled up and dangling under a branch. I get on the trolling motor and crash into the tree trying to knock the fish off, just kidding, trying to get into the tree far enough so that I could reach it. I did and he has four solid fish in his livewell. I back off of the tree that I had just crashed into, banged into all of the branches, and even ran the trolling motor all over and figure I had better make a couple of casts into anyway. I make several flips and feel there are no more fish in it or that if there is they are so spooked that they won’t bite and then I flipped to another tree. My partner flips in there and sets the hook. It’s another three pounder and my mind is now totally gone. I was a FISHING FRUITCAKE from that point on. I somehow managed to catch a keeper fish to keep from blanking that day before we had to head back, but that was totally by mistake because I was in la la land kicking rocks with a fat lip.

Day two and three went about the same and I ended up way…. way back in the standings. It took me a while before I could analyze the tournament and see what all I had learned. One thing I had learned was how to get waxed by your partner on your own fish. But looking back now it is kind of a humorous memory. Maybe I could have been a little more tuned in and a little more aware and the outcome would have been better for me.

Well I will be there the third week of this month and with the knowledge of what not to do and with a little luck maybe I will come out on top.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Mohave

This time every year people everywhere are making resolutions for the new year. We say that we are going to cut back on our spending, spend more time with family, slow down and enjoy life more, and the list goes on and on.

I have been guilty of making resolutions for the new year and not following through with them. Sometimes the goals and resolutions that we set are unreasonable and difficult to follow through with.

However, just the thought of analyzing ourselves once a year and making some simple changes is very constructive.

One change could improve the lives of thousands of youngsters in our society. That change is to take a young person fishing. There are too many youngsters out there in our society who have never experienced a fishing trip. For example, take the children and teenagers who live deep in the heart of some of the big cities around the state and country. We become critics and wonder why some of them cannot stay out of trouble.

Well many of these kids have never spent time in the outdoors. They have never had a real experience with Mother Nature and they are missing something.

Young people have an overwhelming instinct to be interested. They encounter many things these days and have many options when it comes to developing interests.

We can easily tap into this interest by occasionally taking young people out fishing. Give them a new experience that will develop an interest and hopefully be a positive influence.

When I started college in 1989 1 was meeting all different kinds of people from all over the state and country. Many of my fellow classmates had never been fishing. I didn’t know what to think of this, I thought that everybody fished, especially men.

This is when I realized how fortunate I was to have a dad who would take me fishing on weekends. But you don’t have to be a dad to take someone fishing. My interest would have developed for fishing and the outdoors if my mom, uncle, grandam, or any other adult would have taken me.

It doesn’t have to be a big expensive ordeal to take a young person fishing. ~I remember the times we would leave the boat at home and fish off of Mr. Adens pier on Johnson’s Bluff. As a kid, I probably had just as much fun doing that as I did going in the big boat. Remember that young people enjoy simple things, they don’t have to be impressed to be entertained.

Fishing develops patience, character, and an understanding and respect for the environment.

Well, fishing is not the solution for everything but it is no doubt a positive influence on youngsters. So when you are making those New Year resolutions think about a young person around you and plan on taking them fishing.

Fishing is allowed in designated areas of all the marinas around Lake Conroe and also from Lake Conroe Park on FM 105.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Mohave

Black Bass:
The lake is just over two feet low and the water temperature has been in the mid to upper eighties for the last few weeks. All through June the bass were aggressive except during the week that the lake level fell over a foot. Buzzbaits, crankbaits, and crawworms have all been exceptionally productive on shallow bass. Most of the bass on Livingston are in one to five foot of water. Believe it or not on some of the hottest days you will pull solid keepers in less than two feet of water. Concentrating on shallow cover is the key; stumps, laydowns, rocks, and reeds(toolies).

White Bass:
Good limits of white bass have been coming off of the 190 roadbed, 190 flats, mainlake points, and Pine Island. Jigging 3/4 oz Cobra Jigging Spoons has been one of the hottest producers all summer. Stripers have also been mixed in with the whites quite often and will also hit the Cobras. The birds will give away the schooling activity most of the time but if they are not schooling graph the humps and ridges and find schools of whites close to the bottom on the top of the structures in 14-25 feet of water.

Catfish:
Plenty of catfish have been caught early in the mornings around the bulkheads especially after a good rain. Night crawlers, shad, chicken liver, shrimp, or prepared dough baits will usually do the trick. Later in the day head to a creek channel or the main river channel and fish deeper through the hot hours.

Crappie:
Crappie have been pretty good around marina boat docks and standing timber in 10-20 feet of water. Minnows and crappie jigs have been responsible for most of these fish. Crappie jigs in black/chart., black/blue, and pink/white have been working. Remember through the hot months that the crappie will suspend so figure out how many turns off of the bottom that they are.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Mohave

Headline – Lake Mohave

ImageBuilders is a performance oriented website design and development company, specializing in the full spectrum of web services necessary for your small or medium size business to function at it’s optimum. We not only design creative websites pleasing to the eye – our websites produce customers.

As a full service company, we provide ALL the services you need to implement and maintain an effective website, from beginning to end. We can suggest and create a new custom website, or analyze and enhance an existing site; Web Site Evaluation is Free. Whether your website requires e-Commerce, Online Inventory, a Shopping Cart or Database Solutions; we can design, manage and host your website, at an affordable cost.

We employ all the leading edge technology to create a website that is tailored to you and your business; whether that means incorporating Dynamic HTML or Flash Animation for moving pictures, or applying our programming expertise to integrate your product inventory or other database. We NEVER forfeit functionality. Your website’s basic design will be “search engine optimized” to provide you with top search engine position; and with our managed hosting services, your website will maintain good search engine ranking.

Websites we design and our managed hosting services, include valuable features, typically affordable only to large corporations. Since ImageBuilders specializes in web services for small and medium size companies, our rates are special too – much less; but not our product or services. We possess the knowledge and skills, and coupled with our dedication; provide you the same high quality custom design, functionality, and services, the large corporations receive. Proper website design is vital for your website to succeed – be more than just a pretty face. There are many fantastically beautiful websites out there, which will never receive exposure (never by seen by anyone searching), because the designer didn’t understand how the search engines work. Knowledge is power, and we design your website keeping the search engines in mind. Your website will have high search engine ranking, so your intended audience can easily find you. Our comprehensive website design service, also includes registering your site with all of the Web’s major search engines and links listings.

One of ImageBuilders’ unique and valuable features, is our inclusion of a database in our basic website design package, and at no additional cost. Database driven website pages (also referred to as Dynamic website pages) allow some businesses to operate more efficiently and simply, thus saving the administrative team (you), countless hours, effort, and therefore dollars.

We can build a password protected database that allows only you (the administrator/website owner) to access your database, with any web browser from anywhere in the world, and change information by clicking and typing on a website form. This lets you update information whenever you want without the expense of paying us (web designers), because it’s easy and you don’t have to know anything about programming or HTML. Price increases, changes to numerous pages, can all be accomplished DYNAMICALLY or automatically by completing a form we design for your database. This same database allows everyone else (your web customers) to search through your database for products, items, real estate listings, prices, or any search option significant to your business.

Virtually every business website is enhanced by a database driven email system. When a customer contacts you by email, a database is created, including his question or interest and email address; automatically capturing vital customer information that otherwise would be lost. This database quickly provides you with a customer list for future email promotions or contact, a powerful marketing tool. We include this feature in every website we design. In fact, if your website was not designed by ImageBuilders, and doesn’t already include this proven asset; we will include a database driven customer contact form in your website, on the house, when you become one of our Fully Managed Website Hosting clients. – Lake Mohave

ATHENS, Texas — Just as April showers bring May flowers, summer rains may produce lots of big bass, come winter.

The 19th Budweiser ShareLunker season begins Oct. 1 and continues through April 30, and program coordinator David Campbell anticipates a good year. “Many lakes caught a lot of water this summer, and that produces more habitat for fish to spawn. Plus, when the lakes remain full for a longer period of time, the spawning areas are more accessible to anglers, and they catch more big fish,” Campbell said.

Anglers who catch largemouth bass 13 pounds or more from October through April are encouraged to enter the fish into the ShareLunker program. Offspring of the lunkers are stocked into public waters in Texas in an effort to improve the quality of fishing in the state. Anglers receive a replica of their fish by Lake Fork Taxidermy and other prizes and may donate the fish to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department or have it returned to them after spawning.

Anglers wishing to enter a big bass in the program may call Campbell at (903) 681-0550 any time, day or night, to arrange to have a fish picked up. Or they may page him at (888) 784-0600 and leave a phone number including area code. TPWD personnel will attempt to retrieve the fish within 12 hours. Information about caring for fish before the TPWD pickup can be found on the ShareLunker Web site (http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fish/infish/hatchery/tffc/sharelunker.htm). Most marinas also have this information. – Lake Mohave

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation board has voted to recommend acceptance of the Jasper County bid to host a new East Texas freshwater fish hatchery for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The TPWD Commission must still approve the foundation recommendation at the commission’s Nov. 3 meeting.

The Jasper County proposal was valued at approximately $28 million over 50 years, more than $4 million higher than the next highest bidder. It offered the largest land area at 200 acres. And it was also the only hatchery proposal that would require almost no water pumping, because water could be delivered primarily by gravity flow at reduced cost. The site topography is flat and suitable for hatchery ponds, and it will be cleared at no cost to TPWD. Jasper County officials say a bass fishing tournament took place recently at a new pavilion near the site, attracting an estimated 18,000 visitors and competitors.

The Jasper County proposal would locate the new hatchery near the Sam Rayburn Reservoir dam on property owned by Temple-Inland. The site is currently a managed forest logging operation.

Other partner offerings in the Jasper County proposal include help to provide water and financial support from the Lower Neches Valley Authority, assistance with road construction from the Texas Department of Transportation, and additional support from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Jasper County officials have stressed that they welcome participation from neighboring counties and communities to make the hatchery a truly regional project.

“The Jasper County proposal presented the best value for the anglers of Texas,” said Ed Cox, Jr., former foundation board chairman and head of the current foundation hatchery site selection committee. “The bids received from other communities were carefully considered and much appreciated and we’re going to look for ways to partner with these and other communities that realize how important fishing is to regional economies. This project will benefit all of East Texas.”

In May, the foundation received hatchery proposals from seven bidders—San Augustine County, Jasper County, the South Sulphur River Development Association, the Newton First Committee, Tyler County and the City of Woodville, the Sabine River Authority and Dow Chemical Company.

The hatchery proposals were evaluated based upon technical merit and value-added criteria by technical staff at TPWD and by two engineering companies and a CPA firm hired by the foundation. The goal of the hatchery is to provide anglers with the most value for the monies spent.

The new hatchery will replace the present Jasper Fish Hatchery, which was opened in 1932 and has had no major renovation or modernization since the late 1940s. The primary funding source for the new hatchery and for improvements at other hatcheries in the TPWD system will come from a new $5 freshwater fishing stamp that was required beginning Sept.1, and from community and corporate support.

“This approach is a great deal for the 2 million people who fish in Texas, two-thirds of whom fish freshwater,” said Robert L. Cook, TPWD executive director. “This kind of local community support will leverage the value of our new stamp funds to produce the most cost-effective possible outcome. The bottom line is that fishing in Texas will be better.”

Fish hatchery production, along with fisheries management, regulations and law enforcement, helps sustain the high quality of fishing in Texas, an important part of the state economy. Freshwater anglers in Texas generated $1.49 billion in retail sales in 2001 based on data collected by the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service. This angling activity generated $733 million in wages and salaries annually.

There are still major sponsorship opportunities available in connection with the new hatchery. For details, contact the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation (formerly the Parks and Wildlife Foundation of Texas) at (214) 720-1478. – Lake Mohave

The
Women’s Bass Fishing Association
And
JR’s Executive INN

PRESENTS

HARVEST MOON INVITATIONAL EVENT

OHIO/TENNESSEE RIVE, PADUCAH, KENTUCKY

Housing Headquarters
J.R.’s Executive Inn (800) 866-3636 – Lake Mohave

Concerned Texas bass anglers unite to form conservation action group.

www.s-m-a-r-t.org – Lake Mohave

High-brightness 4″ (10.2cm) diagonal Film SuperTwist LCD

Highly visible 240V x 160H pixel resolution

Amber LED backlit screen and keypad for night or low-light viewing
Transmits NMEA 0183 data

Complies with Digital Selective Calling (DSC) requirements for transmitting position, time, and date to DSC equipped VHF marine radios

Simplified keypad with Menu and Pages keys

Overlay Data feature displays GPS information over sonar screen, and sonar information over GPS screens

Space-saving case design with adjustable tilt, quick-mount/release convenience – Lake Mohave