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I hit the Columbia on Sunday the 10th. I was excited because my previous trip had been pretty great and the wind was forecast to be calm. After I got home I checked the definition of calm in the dictionary because whitecaps and waves do not fit the description I am used to 
Needless to say that after a brief start of light wind the conditions quickly deteriorated and I ended up spending the day bouncing up and down like I was fishing on a pogo stick. In the kayak that makes for some tough fishing. Every time I would try to really focus in on my rod and line I would get turned sideways and hit with a wave that would give me that sickening feeling in my stomach as I would tilt precariously to the side.
Of course I could have just gone home but where is the fun in that. Plus, I am not sure if I will many more or any more trips out on the big C this fall/winter to chase bass so I did not want to cut the trip short, even though that would have been the smart thing to do.
Once again, the day started out OK. At the first spot there was some foretelling of the conditions to come as the breeze and current made it hard to stay on a spot. After a while I caught a little pound-sized bass and missed a couple of others, but even though I was getting some bites I decided to head up river in search of greener pastures. That was my first mistake of the day.
I fished a few spots without a sniff when I got to one of my favorite spots. The fish were not setup like they normally are but instead I found them a bit downstream of a big rock that comes all the surface but has 50' deep water behind it. I picked up 2 bass in that spot and was feeling pretty good but I wanted more and bigger fish so once again I left a spot with some fish to try to find something better. Mistake number 2.
By that time the wind had picked up pretty ferociously and I gave serious thought to just heading back to the ramp. Instead, I cleverly decided to head another mile or two upstream into the teeth of it to a couple of other favorite spots. Normally, I go about 3mph upstream in that section but on Sunday my speed has bouncing between 1 and 2mph. Most of the time closer to 1mph than 2mph. Once again, part way there I thought about turning around but instead I just kept pushing on.
I finally made it to the spot that has been my best producer for the last month and half. I thought, "Whew, that was tough but it is going to be worth it now". Narrator's voice "It was not worth it now"
I fished that spot hard but I could not buy a sniff. I think a lot of the problem was that the wind was quartering to the current the weirdly the waves were quartering from a different direction. It was just a complicated mess and I just could not hold my position and watch my rod and line. The wind whistling in my ears was also not helping my concentration. After and hour or so I decided I would go even further upstream.
I thought that the Columbia would reward my struggles but she was not impressed. At the final "good" spot. I once again worked my butt off to try and at least have a semblance of actually fishing. Finally I felt a thunk on my drop shot and set the hook. This felt like a good fish! After what felt like forever of keeping an eye on the waves while trying to concentrate on landing the fish I finally was able to slip my net under a big pikieminnow. That was disappointing. I think the Columbia was just really in a mood and wanted to mock all my efforts.
I though, well that is better than nothing. I headed back up to the spot and kept rotating through a drop shot, wobblehead and blade bait. FInally after a long lull I felt something smack my blade bait and I set the hook into another fish. This turned out to be a little pound-ish smallmouth. Still, catching anything under those conditions felt like a huge victory by that point.
Eventually I left that spot and decided to head back and fish a few other spots. At the first spot, I thought I might be marking fish but the graphs were so jaggy from the bouncing up and down that I was not sure. I flipped out my drop shot and worked it along for a minute when I felt a thump and I set the hook into a decent fish! I was stoked, hooked up on the first cast to this spot!. I worked the fish up and grabbed a decent 2lb smallmouth (only fish I weighed all day). I thought I must have finally landed on them but a fruitless half hour showed otherwise.
I decided to continue my trip back and stopped at an earlier spot where I had not had any luck. However, the wind had eased up a little bit on the trip back so I thought to give it a try. Once again, I quickly caught a pound-ish bass on a wobblehead (my only wobblehead fish of the day) and then it was crickets.
I finally conceded and decided to call it a day. I think that is the hardest I ever worked fishing and I only managed the 6 bass and the pikieminnow. My legs were burning by the time I got to the ramp and it was a struggle to pull my kayak up it. Even as I write this the next day I feel the ache in my legs. I think part of the issue is that I have been reduced to getting IV fluids only onece a week. There is an IV fluids shortage due to the hurricane that hit NC (where apparently they make like 90% of it). Hopefully they get up and running again soon because these last few weeks have been extra tough.
Well enough complaining. Here are some pics of half the bass I caught and a short video.
Needless to say that after a brief start of light wind the conditions quickly deteriorated and I ended up spending the day bouncing up and down like I was fishing on a pogo stick. In the kayak that makes for some tough fishing. Every time I would try to really focus in on my rod and line I would get turned sideways and hit with a wave that would give me that sickening feeling in my stomach as I would tilt precariously to the side.
Of course I could have just gone home but where is the fun in that. Plus, I am not sure if I will many more or any more trips out on the big C this fall/winter to chase bass so I did not want to cut the trip short, even though that would have been the smart thing to do.
Once again, the day started out OK. At the first spot there was some foretelling of the conditions to come as the breeze and current made it hard to stay on a spot. After a while I caught a little pound-sized bass and missed a couple of others, but even though I was getting some bites I decided to head up river in search of greener pastures. That was my first mistake of the day.
I fished a few spots without a sniff when I got to one of my favorite spots. The fish were not setup like they normally are but instead I found them a bit downstream of a big rock that comes all the surface but has 50' deep water behind it. I picked up 2 bass in that spot and was feeling pretty good but I wanted more and bigger fish so once again I left a spot with some fish to try to find something better. Mistake number 2.
By that time the wind had picked up pretty ferociously and I gave serious thought to just heading back to the ramp. Instead, I cleverly decided to head another mile or two upstream into the teeth of it to a couple of other favorite spots. Normally, I go about 3mph upstream in that section but on Sunday my speed has bouncing between 1 and 2mph. Most of the time closer to 1mph than 2mph. Once again, part way there I thought about turning around but instead I just kept pushing on.
I finally made it to the spot that has been my best producer for the last month and half. I thought, "Whew, that was tough but it is going to be worth it now". Narrator's voice "It was not worth it now"
I fished that spot hard but I could not buy a sniff. I think a lot of the problem was that the wind was quartering to the current the weirdly the waves were quartering from a different direction. It was just a complicated mess and I just could not hold my position and watch my rod and line. The wind whistling in my ears was also not helping my concentration. After and hour or so I decided I would go even further upstream.
I thought that the Columbia would reward my struggles but she was not impressed. At the final "good" spot. I once again worked my butt off to try and at least have a semblance of actually fishing. Finally I felt a thunk on my drop shot and set the hook. This felt like a good fish! After what felt like forever of keeping an eye on the waves while trying to concentrate on landing the fish I finally was able to slip my net under a big pikieminnow. That was disappointing. I think the Columbia was just really in a mood and wanted to mock all my efforts.
I though, well that is better than nothing. I headed back up to the spot and kept rotating through a drop shot, wobblehead and blade bait. FInally after a long lull I felt something smack my blade bait and I set the hook into another fish. This turned out to be a little pound-ish smallmouth. Still, catching anything under those conditions felt like a huge victory by that point.
Eventually I left that spot and decided to head back and fish a few other spots. At the first spot, I thought I might be marking fish but the graphs were so jaggy from the bouncing up and down that I was not sure. I flipped out my drop shot and worked it along for a minute when I felt a thump and I set the hook into a decent fish! I was stoked, hooked up on the first cast to this spot!. I worked the fish up and grabbed a decent 2lb smallmouth (only fish I weighed all day). I thought I must have finally landed on them but a fruitless half hour showed otherwise.
I decided to continue my trip back and stopped at an earlier spot where I had not had any luck. However, the wind had eased up a little bit on the trip back so I thought to give it a try. Once again, I quickly caught a pound-ish bass on a wobblehead (my only wobblehead fish of the day) and then it was crickets.
I finally conceded and decided to call it a day. I think that is the hardest I ever worked fishing and I only managed the 6 bass and the pikieminnow. My legs were burning by the time I got to the ramp and it was a struggle to pull my kayak up it. Even as I write this the next day I feel the ache in my legs. I think part of the issue is that I have been reduced to getting IV fluids only onece a week. There is an IV fluids shortage due to the hurricane that hit NC (where apparently they make like 90% of it). Hopefully they get up and running again soon because these last few weeks have been extra tough.
Well enough complaining. Here are some pics of half the bass I caught and a short video.