This morning Jim, Ty, and I left at 5 to go back to Songjeon lake to go after some bass and bluegill in our favorite cove. A while back, someone blocked the dirt road that leads up through the woods over to the cove, so now we have two choices: 1. Park at the road block and walk about 3/4 of a mile through the woods to get there, or 2. Drive to another part of the lake and then walk the bank till we get to the cove. We opted for door number 2 today but I doubt we’ll be taking that little stroll again. There are places along the bank where you have to be part mountain goat, part monkey to make it past the large rocks and small cliffs that are next to the water.
I took pictures of the cove back in late April when the water level was super high but now the water is so low that there’s almost no cove left to speak of. In hindsight, I should have taken a pic today to show the difference but we were too busy catching fish.
Oh what a day it was, both good and bad. On the good side, we caught bass all morning long, one after the other. We ended up keeping 15 bass between 3 people and threw back at least that many, if not more. And the big bluegill were also biting, which made the day complete.
Ty with one of the bass we caught today.
Songjeon lake is full of big bluegill like these but the hard part is finding the areas where they congregate.
And the bad part of the day: I think by now you know that I’m not one for making up fish stories. I admit to getting skunked when it happens (and it happens, trust me), and I’m not the type that exaggerates about the number of fish caught or their size. Having said that, today I hooked and lost the biggest bass I’ve ever had on my line. I was using a 5″ black Senko and had reeled it in about halfway when I felt a real gentle tap. I thought I had hit a rock or that maybe a small bass or bluegill had hit the worm. I was about to reel in again when I saw the line being pulled out, meaning I had a fish on. Going by the small tug I’d felt earlier, I still thought it was a small bass since we had caught a lot of those all morning long, and jerked the rod tip back to set the hook. That’s when I knew something was wrong – when I set the hook, there was no give whatsoever, just like I was caught on a rock. Except this rock was moving parallel to the shoreline. I started reeling in, still not 100% sure of what I had on the other end until I got the fish to within 5 feet of shore and it came to the surface – the biggest bass I’ve ever hooked into. I’m being conservative here, it had to be at least 6, 7 pounds. Probably more, but I’m not sure because I never got a chance to find out. Once the bass came up, it decided to head back for deeper water and that’s what it did, breaking my 10 pound test line like sewing thread, leaving me to throw my rod on the ground, screaming “F*ck!!!” quite a number of times. Jim and Ty had seen the whole thing and were both shocked – they also knew I had just lost “The Bass” – the one we bass fisherman try for all our lives. The odds of me hooking another monster like that this year, or heck, ever, are pretty slim but hey, that’s just the way it is. So if anyone ever fishes in Songjeon lake and catches a monster bass that still has a 5″ black Senko in its mouth, that fish was mine, damn it, that fish was mine!
Damn, that’s too bad Nomad! When we fished the tournament at that lake a couple of weeks ago one of the KSA Pro’s told me that there were some real nice bass in there, and it looks like you almost landed one of ‘em. Ahh, the ones that get away!!! But that’s one of the things that keeps us going back, aint it?
Andong was great, had a good time. I only caught one decent fish (2.3 Lbs), and spent a couple of hours yesterday feeling like a castaway when the boat I was fishing in decided to break down a pretty good ways down the lake from our camp site.
I called our trusted friend (and your fellow blogger)
The Bass Hole for help, and not long afterward he was on his way in his new Zebec to tow sunburned, parched, hungry and tired Rob back to camp. I was blown up into a deep cove on the other side of the lake from our camp site, so when Gar asked which direction he needed to go to find me, I told him left. Well, that was my left, his right. Doh!
While Gar was trying to figure out my screwed up directions, the owner of the boat just so happened to pass by with a friend in another boat. They found me standing up in the boat clinging to a tree waiting for Gar. They ended up towing me back, and Gar showed up just about the time we headed out with “cold refreshments,” which I am thoroughly thankful for.
Gar (and several others) caught some nice fish, but I’ll let him tell you about ‘em.
LOL Rob, great story
Glad you guys had a good time, hope Gar does up a nice post with lots of pics.
And yes, that’s exactly one of the many reasons I keep going back out..and I did today for a while (we caught 10, but all 1 pound or less), and you can bet I had my drag set way loose today. The reason my drag was tight all the way the other day was because last week I had a snag and had to tighten the drag so I could snap the line, and I forgot to reset it. That’ll teach me!
BTW, my friend Khalil went to that lake that afternoon, at another spot near the dam and caught a 5 pound bass on a black and silver Senko.
Confucious say; Man who use 20lb test-10lb diameter Spyder wire fusion loose no bass due to broken line
and suffer no line memory when line stored on reel all winter. Also consider this for a Bluegill hole. Find a sandy point with 5 to 10 feet of water on it, then buy a 40kg bag of dog food and transfer it to a large plastic bag, punch holes in the plastic bag then weight it down with some cement blocks wired securely around the bag then drop the bag on that point along with a few dead bushes wired together and weighted and PRESTO an instand Bluegill attractor and the bass will always be close also as they try to eat the Bluegill. One may get wet placing the attractor but the fun is worth it.
Tom,
I’ve heard some horror stories about that Spyder wire causing snarls and birds nests due to it’s diameter so I haven’t tried it yet. As for the bluegill attractor, that’s a good idea and I’ll have to run it past my fishing buddies to see if we can’t come up with something.
BTW, I’ve had a few people asking me why my drag wasn’t set when I lost that big bass – The last time I was fishing I got snagged and had to tighten the drag so I could break the line and I forgot to loosen it again. Lesson learned!
Nomad, fill your reel about 1/3 full of mono then lay the spyder wire over that. It will give a smoother cast and is cheaper also by not using so much spyder wire line. Do you use a bait cast reel or a spinning reel?
I lost a fine fish in the Fla Keys by not having my drag tight enough–I bet I will never do that again
Spinning reel…
The spyder wire “FUSION” behaves very well on a spinning reel, I have used it on my lightweight rig for years. Bait casting reels require more attention when casting as in managing the spool with one’s thumb. I really think you would enjoy the security of knowing that you won’t loose any fish using Spyderwire FUSION. I have had some horriffic backlashes with spyder wire on a baitcaster and my son has also. He is really prone to lack of concentration when he casts, LOL LOL, I suppose it is all those hormones kicking in at 17. I have had cheap reels explode upon a hook set, cheap poles break on a hook set and still I love the peace of mind I get from Spyderwire FUSION.
Last summer I began grass fishing here on lake Guntersville. the grass, milfoil and hydrilla, require some stout line to get a big bass out of it. I use 80lb test, 20lb diameter braided with texas rigged worms and jigs, a 7 and 1/2 foot heavy action rod with a large pfluger spinning reel. When the bass runs it is like my line is a weed eater as it cuts through the grass.
Anyway I still wish I was in Korea because the bream and bass fishing has expanded so much from the 2000 it is amazing. It appears that all the fresh water in Korea has been conquered by the bass and bream. It is good to see so many americans enjoying catching them.
Take care, keep a tight line,
Tom
Nomad, just curious, but have you ever tried drop-shotting the Senkos? Baby Brush Hogs did really well for some of the guys down at Andong.
Rob,
Drop shotting is putting a weight on the bottom, tying a hook about 1-2 feet up the line, and then dragging the weight along the bottom, which causes the worm to travel a couple of feet above the bottom, right? I’ve never tried that with a senko, but have tried it with a regular plastic worm with nothing except snags to show for it, especially in Sojeong lake which has a rocky bottom. That’s one of the reasons senkos work so well in that lake – they’re fished weightless and rarely, if ever, get snagged. Matter of fact, a lot of my bites come right after the senko hits a rock and I jerk the rod tip a bit to get the worm moving over or past the rock. I think since there’s not much other cover in that lake, the bass go down and hide beside the rocks and then they nail the senkos as they see the worm coming past or over them.
Brush hogs, eh? I’ve never used them – yet.
Nomad, yes you described drop-shotting perfectly. I didn’t realize that you didn’t need a weight with the Senkos. I’ve been Texas-rigging them! Maybe that’s why I’ve never caught anything on ‘em. lol
Ack! No no no, don’t use a weight! They’re heavy enough on their own and a weight ruins the action of the worm!
Now – interestingly enough, all this time I’ve been using the “cast out, let it sit a few seconds, turn the reel 1/2 a turn, let it sit” method, but last weekend, my buddy started fishing them like a regular worm – lift the rod tip about 2 feet, then slowly reel in the slack, let the senko sit, then repeat and he was getting a lot of hits and a lot more fish than I was with my method. I think his method works better in lakes with rocky bottoms because he’s raising the senko up off the bottom more, and the bass which are hiding in the rocks see the worm more than the way I’ve been doing it. Of course I’m probably way off base, as I just can’t seem to figure out what makes these darned fish tick from one day to the next
There are sinkers available that are long, about 3 inches, and slim, 1/8th inch diameter and covered with plastic, slightly curved, that are fantastic for drop-shotting in rocky bottom water, they work really well when carolina rigging also. They almost-never get snagged or caught between rocks. The Bass Pro catalog was a real life-saver for me in Korea.
Tom,
I’ll have to check those out. Thanks for the numerous tips