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I got a phone call around 2pm from Tony Miller wanting to see if I could meet in the evening for a few hours of fishing.  We met at the ramp at 4:30pm.  The first order of business was to see about netting some shad.  Since the water was up and there was a little current coming through my shad hole, I decided to bring my light spinning gear armed with a Sabiki rig just in case I saw a skipjack or two. 

We headed up to the shad hole and there was a ton of trash coming downstream.  At the head of this side channel is a dike that comes all the way across.  Water comes over the top when the river is up and that’s what makes current flow through our shad spot.  As we approached the dike, there was an unusual sound at the back of the boat.  I thought perhaps we had hit a piece of lumber but as we turned around we noticed a 10-12lb Asian Carp flopping around on the bottom of the boat   We both had a good laugh and realized that our “bait situation” had drastically improved.  I casted a few times in the turbulent water coming over the dike but the water was soooo muddy I didn’t figure I’d waste much time trying to find skips.  Over around the edge where the current was spinning, I cast my net a few times trying to find some shad.  I ended up with a small channel cat and a 5 lb drum.  Both were of no value to our bait expedition.

We decided to head to the tributary right below the chute to see if we could catch a few shad there.  As we approached, I saw just a glorious sight!!  There was a very distinct mud line where the side channel met with the tributary.  The side channel water had a visibility of about 1/2 inch but the tributary was much clearer.  Right on that line there was splashes all over the place.  I sure was glad a brought my sabiki rig.  Over the next several minutes I caught a dozen skipjack on my rig.  We were set with bait and didn’t even need the Asian carp.  Ahhh, nothing beats fresh skipjack.

I wish the fishing would have been better but it IS the end of June and the spawn is likely in full swing.  Did I mention the trash in the river was bad??  It was terrible:  30 foot trees, masses of branches, all apparently eyeing the boat.

Finally, on one of our revetment setups, I got the HIT I was looking for.  He slowly brought the pole down, then he slammed it down the rest of the way and the drag was ripping off the reel.  I jumped up (literally), grabbed the pole, and the fight was on!  I tighted the drag down some and he turned.  Now he was headed for the boat.  I played a little catch-up, then I felt him shake his head   That was it and he was gone.  After a few tears were shed and the weight estimate was determined (I think we decided he was 70 lbs or so ), we then moved.

I finished the evening out with a whopping 3 lb Blue and that was pretty much it.  A beautiful evening, hot and humid.  We went in with our heads held high, knowing that we didn’t get skunked.  The 75lber was safe (Did I say 70 a moment ago?  I meant 75!) and maybe would weigh a little more next week.

Shane Williams