Today was one of those days where nothing could go wrong. The weather was great (up until around 9:30 when it started getting pretty darn hot out there), there was no wind, and with the full moon this weekend, the bass were tearing it up out there. I started out at the same spot where I did 90% of my EMB™ fishing last year to see if anything had improved over the last month or so and much to my surprise and joy, I caught 7 bass in less than an hour. Here are a few pics:
Around 6, I moved to the same spot where I had caught my 50cm bass earlier this week and the bass were tearing it up there too. On my very first cast, I caught another Big Momma 
This one I remembered to weigh; 3 pounds, 11 ounces. Yeah baby! I then started throwing VibraShocks, spinnerbaits and crankbaits; I caught one dink on a crankbait and that was it so I switched back to Senkos and continued to catch bass.
The worm that fish hit is a Senko knockoff from Alluring Baits. I caught 2 or 3 using those but the bass would only hit that watermelon with black flakes. With the real Senkos, they hit black, black with blue flakes and the mystery sparkle black as well. I ended up with a total of 18 bass this morning, which is a record for me, as far as I know. Now granted, the majority of them were dinks but to catch that many fish plus a Big Momma made today one of the best days I’ve ever had fishing. Rob is on his way down to Andong and if the bass down there bite even half as good as they did in the river this morning (heck, this entire week), Rob should be bringing back one hell of a report.
One final note: I put a light crankbait ( a 2″ Rapala Shadrap) on one of my baitcasters this morning and it turned into a disaster. Every time I tried to cast overhand, the lure went almost straight down instead of in a nice arc and I got a backlash. Even when casting sidehanded/sideways, the lure wouldn’t go very far (maybe 10-15 feet?). I don’t know, maybe that lure is too light? I’ve heard about people using baitcasters for worms so that can’t be it….anyone have any tips?
As you know I am prepping to teach myself to use this reel also. My searches have led me to believe you need to look at the the manufacturers ratings. To throw light lures you have to use what has been suggested by the manufactures. “As an example take a reel rated for 14lb line spool that weight on it, mount that reel to a rod rated for 14lb test, then add a practice plug in the higher end of the rods lure rating. You would then have a balanced system to learn on.”
I have read of light baitcasters as well as heavier duty ones. As far as worms go, if they are not using light reels maybe Texas, Carolina, dropshot or Kaiser rigs with 1/4-1/2 oz sinkers?
Nomad,
First of all great job on having one of “those” days, I had one similar 2 weeks ago if you remember
Now down to business…what kind of brakes does your baitcaster have, magnetic or internal manual??
I also used to have the “straight down to the water” problem when I first started to use senkos on my baitcasters. As I always say, it’s all about practice and setting the brakes correctly for each kind/size/weight of lure. I see you posted a similar question over at UB and I can guess that most of those guys will tell you “it’s all in the thumb”. I learn’t to cast the lighter baits on grass in a nearby park where I just casted and casted until my arms were sore.
Steve,
The reel has the magnetic brakes. My upstairs neighbor took a look at it yesterday and while trying it out, had the same problem and he thinks it’s my rod, that it’s too stiff (it’s a medium heavy) for light lures. He suggested I try putting that reel on a lighter rod and then seeing how it does.
Yea, that makes sense. Sounds like a good excuse to go rod shopping
And rod shopping is just what I did this afternoon
Alright Nomad, what did you get
Steve,
I ordered this one
http://www.gloomis.us/G-LOOMIS-Casting-Rods-20812/2983897-G-LOOMIS-Crankbait/ProductInfo.aspx
I wanted the medium-light model but it’s not in stock; this one should do fine, according to the specs.
That’s a nice rod, let me know how it works for you
Nice going Nomad!!!
Andong was great, but unfortunately I’m not going to have much in the way of a report because my camera is now at the bottom of the lake.
Unbelievable man. As I bent over to tie my boat up to the boat dock it popped out of my life vest pocket and into 20 feet of water. All I could do was watch it sink. Ack! That’s the second one in two years that I’ve lost…
There were five of us in our group and we all caught nice fish. The biggest one I caught was 4 pounds on Friday night. One of the other guys caught a 4.5 and a 5.5 pounder on Saturday morning, and yet another guy caught a 5 pounder this morning. There were also lots of fish in the 3-4 pound range caught (I caught at least six in that range), and of course some dinks too, but dinks or not, a weekend at Andong is a weekend at Andong. The people are friendly, the air is clean, and the fishing is excellent. That’s a hard combination to beat no matter where you are.
Rob, too bad about your camera. For your next one you should get one of those Dicapac waterproof enclosures. They are fairly inexpensive. Mine was $29. They make the camera boyant. I used mine parasailing, jet skiing, sailing, banana boating, reef diving, deep sea fishing, and snorkeling down to about 12 feet while in Guam last month. Kept my camera bone dry. I thoroughly tested it in the base pool prior to going and you can still use all the functions. I hear they are made right here in Korea.
Nomad I like the little TM next to the EMB.
[...] Check out who had their best day ever fishing. [...]
Thanks for the tip Dave. I’ll definitely check into that.
Rob,
Sorry to hear about the camera, I was looking forward to seeing what real bass look like
Dave, I got a million of ‘em
Andong bass don’t look any different than river bass, other than they are slightly longer, or so seem to be to me anyway. I know you were joking, but compared to the river bass, they really do seem to be longer and thinner, relatively speaking.
On the camera, life happens. Not much I can do about it now but buy yet another one, and be a little more careful next time.
By the way, unlike my camera, I can confirm that both bags of Senkos and ball caps, at least for a little while, do in fact float.
No, I was looking forward to seeing some 4 and 5 pounders, something I haven’t seen (and probably won’t) out in the river. They’re possibly out there, but that 3.11 is the biggest I’ve caught out of there yet…you said you caught a 4 pounder once on a spinnerbait by Joe’s old place, and I heard someone caught a 5 pounder near those rocks during a tournament.
At least you didn’t drop your lighter in the water!
I don’t know man. I think they’re out there. Some of the ones you caught out there last year and didn’t weigh probably would have busted the 4 pound mark. And what about that big one that Jimmy caught last year? How long was that thing, 58 centimeters?
Yes, I caught a 4.2 pound bass on a spinnerbait out of the river, and a girl I know who used to fish out there all of the time caught a 4.9 pound one a few days later, but that was five years ago. I haven’t caught one that big out of there since then.
And generally speaking, Andong bass do seem to be longer and thinner, whereas river bass seem to be fatter, but that could just be me too.
I think Jimmy’s was 51 cm, and a few days before him, a Korean guy caught a 54cm out of there…I’d have to go back on Anglerstown and check though.
It was a Korean guy who caught the 58 centimeter one, at the PBA area I believe. That’s a good 4.5 – 5 pound fish.
And I think Jimmy’s was 54 centimeters, but I can’t find it.
Man, that was a nice fish!
Here’s Jimmy’s:
http://tinyurl.com/oj8gm7
Nice fish Nomad. I think your friend is correct in the type of rod you use with a baitcaster. If the rod does not have flexibility, you are going to have problems casting a light lure. The rod is what whips that bad boy out there and the rest is you controlling the reel with your thumb so you won’t get a backlash. It was a damn good excuse for you and a smart move to let Momma buy you a new one for Mother’s day.
Also, do any of you guys know when the Andong international tournament is and who is the contact. I was told Walt Cannon left Korea. I have some friends that want to fish it and one called me yesterday inquiring about it.
Rob,
That does suck about your second camera. I had something similiar happen to me but it was my fly box that fell out of my vest and into a nearly frozen, very very cold river where I could not retrieve it. Them damn fishing vest pockets open up very easy and bending over will drop stuff out from the many pockets if you are not careful.
Nomad,
Nice catch but save a few for me, ok?
Tex, Walt is definitely gone. He left last Fall and went to Arizona.
Eh, another year, another Sony Cybershot dropped in the water…C’est la vie. LOL
The International is in June and the POC is KSA Pro Pete Hart. I was down at Andong with him this past weekend and he told me that KSA has alloted 20 slots for Americans, so if you’re interested contact him ASAP. I’m still waiting on his ok to post his email address here, but if you have USFK mail you can probably just look him up in the global directory.
John,
No worries, every single one of those is back in the water, waiting for you
…or a net.
Ack! The “N” word again!
They’re everywhere, and getting worse. I noticed a lot more of them down at Andong too. They had gill nets strung across entire cove entrances.
“They had gill nets strung across entire cove entrances.
”
That’s not good Rob, especially since I guess a lot of the coves are already dried up now!!
This morning, I watched an ajoshi and ajumma coming to shore in their boat to get some nets they had under a tarp (at the 2nd rest stop, Rob). Every 30 minutes or so, they would get a new one and go put in in the water somewhere, then come back for another.
Those nets really irk me for numerous reasons. The biggest one is that they decimate the fish populations – not only the targeted fish (carp and now bass) but all the species that are in that water. And it’s a bad spiral; I think the river is at a point where due to the nets, the netters are catching less fish than before so what do they have to do in order to maintain their catch levels? They put out more nets. The other reasons I don’t like those nets is because 50% (or more) of the lures I’ve lost were due to the nets or the ropes that anchor them, and last but not least, they are ugly and make taking a boat out a hazard.
Still plenty of coves Steve, but yea, a lot of them are entirely dried up.
On the nets, I was still able to get into the backs of the coves and catch fish. I would just push the rope down and troll over top of it.
I took a crap load of pics, but…
ROTFL