Rideau River Bass Report - July 13

[JustinHoffman]

Hello All,

Well, finally some bass to report! Things have been busy as of late with weddings and stags (none mine), so my fishing time had been neglected to the back burner. I have been out a bunch of times, but usually solo, and the bite has been sporadic.
Anyways, spent yesterday afternoon fishing a stretch of the Rideau River. Temperature was very hot to say the least, pushing 38-degrees with the humidity, but I had the feeling the fish would be relating to the slop, docks and fall downs. I was right.
Landed 14 largies in the four hours I spent searching for them, as well as a few pike. Only missed a few fish, but saw a bunch of skittery and neutral fish that had some weight to them.
All fish were caught from the edge of heavy slop, or from boats/docks, in water from 6-inches upwards of four-feet. Most were very aggressive, and I had two or three that actually swam out a good five or six-feet from cover to slam the bait. Speaking of baits, most fish were caught on either a purple/blue or craw-coloured 3/8oz. BPS Enticer flipping jig, with a Zoom chunk trailer. The big fish of the day, a largie weighing 3.4lbs, as well as three others, were caught on a purple/watermelon Bacon Bits, rigged weedless on a 1/2 oz. Fin-tech Title SHot jig. The big girl was the only fish of the day not relating to overhead cover, as I pulled her out of 8-feet of water from a current area of boulders. (Working on her suntan I 'spose! LOL)
Here are a few shots. I was fishing solo, so the self-portrait isn't the greatest..

The Fin-tech Title SHot..





The release shot..



The double-fister..



I have been fortunate to recently become involved with Fin-tech (via McQ), and am Prostaffing for the company. The opportunity is an excellent one, and the product lineup I'll be endorsing is exciting to say the least. Here is the website for those interested in checking it out:

http://www.jigfish.com

Was a great day spent on the water, and only one other fishing boat in sight to keep me company...(have to like days like that!)
Only three weeks left until I revisit my secret little cottage lake that is home to the infamous 6lbers...that report should have a bit more substance.

Good Fishing,
Justin

[Gord]

Cool report bud! ............it looks like I just might have to check into those jigs!!

[HogHunter]

Nice work man. I fished largies on the Rideau yesterday and found the same thing. The bite was on, slop produced the best but the biggest one of the day was out in open water as well. I used a variety of plastics, jigs and frogs but it didn't seem to matter. Probably the best day of shore fishing largies yet this summer. Think I managed 12 from about 3 until dark...One or two dinks, most around 1 1/2-2 and one a little over three. Great day to be out.

[Badger Shark]

Man that slop really does produce. Maybe Clown and I will have to get bac out there and give er another try. Just cant stand the traffic.

[Fishquest]

Great job Justin. Thanks for the pics and the report.

[HogHunter]

By the way man, forgot to mention...sweet pics! Bass or so photogenic (especially the one with the nice tan).

[FireFox]

Beauty bass there Justin. Looks like you have a pretty good bead on the bass in those waters if you can find 14 in a few hours during the dog days of the summer.

Those Fin-tech Title SHot jigs keep coming up around here. McQ -- you realize that I now have to go out and find some to give them a try right ? Hehe.

Thanks for the report Justin, always great pics and a story to go along with it.

Fox

[muskymatt]

Nice lookin bass!

14 in four hours, thats pretty good.

I bet you were hot , it was smokin hot at work , we had to leave at 1:30pm, couldn't take the heat.

Matt

[Jigs]

Great report Justin:

Was out yesterday morning for a bit in the Kan knew. Managed 4 by 8 AM, then off the water about 8:30.......got HOT.

They really liked watermelon lizards yesterday, but you had to bury them in the slop, then twitch........the bait too.

Miscalculated on docking, missing "the flat rock" and went chest deep. First swim of the year. Luckily I had some soap along........

Jigs float

[Pints]

Nice looking fish, glad your search paid off.

[Flipper]

Justin, I always enjoy your reports. Great pictures. What kind of camera do you use?

[fatluke]

Flipper...

Check this post for type of camera

http://fish-hawk.net/hawktalk/viewtopic ... highlight=

[Flipper]

Thanks Fatluke.

[fatluke]

No Problem....

It does take a might fine picture, that's for sure!!!!!!

[JustinHoffman]

Thanks for the compliments, guys..

Firefox - "Dog days of summer" are one of my favourite times to connect with largies. They are concentrated in smaller areas, and these areas are quite easy to figure out. Shade is the number one consideration. Docks, moored boats, slop, laydowns and pads. It's that easy. I had one fish on this trip come out from under a boat that was moored up alongside of the shore. Just a sand bottom, 8-inches of water and no weeds. He was sitting under the shade of that 12-foot tinny, and whacked a flipping jig the second it dropped down beside the boat. Heavy flipping gear, some flipping jigs and the determination to pitch to every inch of overhead cover will always get you fish during periods like this. In fact, when you string together a series of hot days like we are having, the fish are more active and aggressive than ever. However, fish the open water and you'll be hard pressed to come up with anything. By the way - got your PM - will respond in the next day or two as things are a bit hectic right now. Thanks..

Flipper - the camera is a Pentax *istDS digital SLR. Purchased last fall for around $1200, but you can pick one up nowadays for under $600 I believe. No comparison to "point and shoot" digis, and if you spend enough time on the water, it is a great investment for sure.

Badger Shark - yep, the slop on the Rideau really does produce. As for the traffic, you just have to work around it. I generally try to fish during the week, which cuts down on the boat traffic greatly. Also, I fish sections of the Rideau that aren't quite as popular for anglers as other spots. Kars will always be busy, but check out some stretches farther south. The spot I hit isn't even busy on the weekend, except for a handful of cabin cruisers. Also, if you are fishing the thick slop and heavy shoreline cover, the boats going through the channel shouldn't really affect you all that much...

Good Fishing,
Justin