The 4th of July Weekend At The Lake

Hope everybody had a good one.

We got down to the Lake Saturday afternoon and came back Monday afternoon, but I wasn't able to do any fishing. The whole family was down so it was knee boarding and tubing with the kids all day long. We went thru 36 gallons of gas in the boat in those two days.

Jimmy and Craig were able to go down Friday afternoon and caught 26 bass. They were on the summer deeper water pattern, using mainly Little George lures. They also caught a few with the blue and black jigs.

I hate to do this but I've got to preach a little bit.

I strongly urge all lake members who are enjoying tubing to read and be aware of the Lake rules about boat operation in the ski lanes. By following these rules it will be safer and more fun for all.

I saw a few dangerous actions out there. Please know the rules and use good common sense.

End of sermon.

Anyway it was a great weekend. The Fireworks around the Lake were wonderful Sunday night. I saw a lot of boats out enjoying the show.

This weekend really made me think of how lucky we are to live in the country we live in and how lucky we are to be able to enjoy a special place like the Lake.

Fishing Reports Updated With New Links

Last week we were after the crappie. As you can see by the post below, they were biting. Altogether, my dad, Albert Saik, and I, fishing either together or solo , caught around 66 crappie in a 3 day period during the full moon phase over Memorial Day weekend. Over a hundred pounds of fish. My dad cleaned every one of them. While we cooked some , we have a lot now put up.

We caught them two ways, either slow rolling the ultra lites ( as described in this post),
or by using jig poles around structure.

It is a fun challenge figuring these picky biters out.

On the bass front Jimmy and Glen went out yesterday after lunch and caught 41 bass. Like me a while back they fished the schools using mainly a wing ding lure, also Known as a Tail Kicker. thrown into the schools.

What is a wing ding or Tail Kicker? Well they are made by a Mississippi outfit called Redneck Lures. They are basically a Little George, except the line passes thru the body of the lure, then you tie on the treble hook.

They Look Like This

Here is an article on them



Now finding these are sometimes difficult but Jimmy and Glen say you can get them at Vann's in Brandon or at Tommy's Trading Post at the Hwy 43 landing at the reservoir.

Jimmy said they would throw it into the school and reel it when the bass were busting the top of the water. When the fish were inactive at the top they would let it sink and yo-yo it.

Here's a picture of Glenn with a 6 pounder caught yesterday..........

Proof That The Crappie Are Biting

My dad and Albert Saik caught 21 today in a couple of hours on the Lake, including these. All were slabs. Full report at the first of the week.
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Great Day On The Lake

My dad, Sonny, got a new boat Tuesday that he had been wanting for a while. We took it down an put it in the Lake yesterday. We had fun breaking it in going after the crappie.

Using ulta lites and a black 1/16 horse head jig with a bottom spinner, along with chartreuse curly tails, we caught 25 crappie. The total weight of the fish was 42.14 lbs. I'll take that avg. any day.

We caught most of them in around 12 feet of water at different levels of that depth by varying the retrieval speed. Slower and deeper seemed to work better.

The only draw back was the action was the hottest at the hottest part of the day. We got on the water around 1:15. Between 2 and 5 pm was when we caught most of them, but it was worth it.

With the moon phase where it is right now, it is a peak time to be out fishing.

I hope to be able to be back down this week end.

A Couple Of Reports

I was able to go out some last week on the Lake and had a blast trying to figure out the crappie. I caught 16, of which 12 were very nice slabs. The other 4 were nice fish, but not the big boys like the rest.

I was using a curly tail on a 1/16 oz black jig head. I caught them on black and chartreuse colored Berkley 2 inch power grub curly tails , using a Zebco 11 ultra lite rod and reel combo with 4 pound line. I was casting and reeling back using different speeds until they told me what speed they liked. If I had a clue about crappie fishing I might have done a lot better.

It was a challenge and a lot of fun. Those were some fighting little buggers.

On the bass front, it wasn't so challenging because the bass are really schooling now and are fairly easy to find. I went out and caught about 12 in 30 mins or less.

I, along with Jimmy and Craig, have noticed we are catching some smaller bass more often. They are either a pound to a pound and a half or they are big fish. We are not seeing as many 2-4 pound fish as we were.

Craig went out Saturday with his 11 yr old son Jarrett and said he saw the biggest school of bass he's ever seen. Craig loaded the boat up on the bass while Jarrett fished deep with crickets and caught as many chinks as he could handle.

Although it's getting hotter out there, the fishing is just as hot.

Some Nice Crappie

I'm at the Lake the past couple of days. I'll give a better report when I get back home.

Here is what I've been having fun catching...............

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Fishing Report

Although they had to dodge the rain, Jimmy and my brother in law Craig went out Saturday and caught 22 bass.

They changed up a little bit and used some swimming jigs and buzz baits.

Fishing Reports

Although I can't seem to be able to get down to the Lake to do any fishing, others are having a great spring fishing. You have seen the reports from Jimmy lately and here are a couple more from Brad Blanks and my brother in law Craig Allen.

Brad did some bass fishing Thursday for a while that morning. He was using the blue black jig that has been deadly this spring. He caught 19 bass, but even better out of the 19 only 4 were less than 17 inches. That's a heck of an average.

Craig wen't out Sunday morning and caught 22 bass. Craig mainly went the crankbait route, although he did catch a few early on a buzzbait.

Craig and my father-in-law Paul also hit the bream Saturday and Sunday afternoon. He said they found a great Chinquapin bed. They caught all they could handle.

Brad also took his kids out bream fishing. He said they were on beds and it was easy to catch 10 as quick as you could get the bait in the water.

A few days ago we showed his little girl Abby with her first catch. Here is his son Thomas, 3, with his first rod and reel catch.....................................

Catching A Boatload

Jimmy Pickle and his nephew Jason Moore went out yesterday afternoon and landed 44 bass. Unlike the day before, they did get some shallow. They mainly used crankbaits and the trusty jigs.

Jason Moore with a nice fish..............................

The Boys Caught More Than Fish Yesterday

Jimmy and Glenn were back out on the Lake yesterday and had a decent day. Jimmy said the bass had moved deeper. They caught 20 something on the deep diving crankbaits.

The fish were all of about the "schooling size", none of the big boys they have been catching.

Jimmy did catch this nice crappie on a crankbait deep.


He also caught this...........................



He snagged this Quantum reel and rod with a crankbait in about 10 feet of water. He said it looks like it was recently dropped. Contact me if it is yours or you hear of somebody who lost one.

A Couple of Fishing Reports

Jimmy and Glen headed back out on the Lake yesterday and had another great day. They caught 37 bass, mainly all on jigs on drop offs near the spawning beds. They worked the shell beds pretty hard.

Jimmy said the day was "all right."

That shows you how spoiled he has become over the fishing at the Lake. I ribbed him a little about being greedy.

Here is Glen with the best fish of the day another 7 pounder.............



Also Brad Blanks took his little girl Abby out for some bream fishing.

Here is his report.................

I signed my 7 year old daughter, Abby, out of school early today to take her bream fishing. We fished beds all over the lake using crickets and caught 32. We kept 20 of them and she wants to fry them up this weekend.

She and I had an absolute blast and Abby already wants to know when we are going fishing again.

This is not her first fishing trip but by far her most successful. She wanted me to wait and clean the fish tomorrow so she could take them to school and show her class all the fish she caught. We settled on printing out some pictures.

Thanks to Brad for sending that in. Here is Abby with some of her catch.............

The Boys Had Quite A Day

Jimmy and Glen got down to the Lake around 10am yesterday morning. From 10 to 5 they caught 24 bass. Not bad, but a little slow by their standards. But luckily they stuck with it until almost dark.

From 5 to 7 they went back to a shell bed to give it one more try with some jigs and they caught 21 more.

They threw back 18 that were over 17 inches!

Their best 5 weighed 33 lbs combined. Over 6lbs for an average. In a team tournament, that would be tough to beat any day.

The Lake is just getting better and better size wise.

Here are some pictures of their best three. An 8 and two 7 pounders..............................

Fishing Report

Jimmy and the Coach had a good day Friday, despite dodging some bad weather. They got in some fishing between rain storms in a five hour period and caught 34 bass.

They found a good school of bass off a pier in about 4-5 feet of water. Jimmy said they were looking for any kind of depth change near shallow water. They used crankbaits on this pattern.

Jimmy will be down some this week because he has taken his vacation to fish. He thinks this is going to be a very good week. It should be. The weather and moon phase look to be ideal.

They also caught a few using jigs on the levee.

This is a picture of Coach with a spawned out fish, this fish will be a 8-9 pounder this fall.

One That Didn't Get Away

This big bass was caught by young John Tait Garner recently at the Lake. Most who saw the fish think it is the biggest they have seen caught at the Lake.

John Tait landed this beauty using a pig-n-jig while fishing with his dad Gary.

Gary says that now instead of watching the TV shows most youngsters his age watch on Saturday morning, John Tait watches all the bass fishing shows.

Congrats to John Tait on his big catch.





Thanks to Debbie Saik for sending in the pictures.

Fishing Association Meeting Re-Cap

We had a great turn out, around 40 if my count was right.

The food was wonderful. Thanks to Trey McLean for the ribs, his wife for the beans, Debbie Saik for the potato salad, and all others who contributed to the meal.

Albert Saik gave a report on the results of the shocking of the Lake. We got a good report.

The limits are the same. Please keep ALL bass 17 inches and under. 10 bream per day. Please keep all crappie, catfish, and yellow bass.

There have been reports of stripped bass being caught. Please be sure and keep those if you catch one.

Richard Painter gave a financial update on the Fishing Association. It is in very good shape.

Albert also provided maps of new structure along with GPS coordinates for the new structure. If you would like one contact Albert or send an email to me and I'll pass it along.

Thanks to every one for coming out.

I took this picture before the meeting. I thought it was funny that we have this big ole lake but that it wasn't good enough for these guys....................

Fishing Report

The fishing has been good lately.

Jimmy Pickle and Coach Robinson had another good day, catching 27 bass. They reported some were on the beds while others had come off the beds.

25 were caught on jigs while 2 were caught with lizards.

Coach shows off a couple caught on this trip........................







Remember Fishing Association Meeting Thursday night. Click here for details

Fishing Association Meeting

Open to all Fishing Association members and those who wish to join that night.

Please try to attend


2010

FISHING ASSOCIATION ANNUAL MEETING

LAKE CAVALIER CLUBHOUSE

THURSDAY, APRIL 15TH

6:00

BARBEQUE RIB DINNER WILL BE SERVED

RESERVATIONS REQUIRED

albertsaik@comcast.net

JOIN OR RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP

$100-SINGLE MEMBERSHIP

$150-FAMILY MEMBERSHIP

WOMEN ARE ENCOURAGED TO JOIN

(If you are unable to attend send your joining fee or renewal fee to Richard Painter, 103 Pine Cove Ln. Madison,Ms. 39110)

We will be discussing the results from Southeastern Pond on the recent lake shocking, the addition of fish structure, the general condition of fishing on the lake and anything else anyone wants to discuss. Albert will discuss crappie fishing and have pictures of the structure he has built and put in the lake. Come prepared with your questions and comments and if we don’t have the answers we will find someone who does. Be sure to pick up your Lake Cavalier map with the new structure marked.

Fish Fry Reminder

LAKE CAVALIER FISH FRY

SPONSORED BY THE LAKE CAVALIER FISHING ASSOCIATION


FRIDAY, APRIL 9TH

LAKE CAVALIER CLUBHOUSE

6:00 – 7:00 SOCIAL

7:00 DINNER

ALL LAKE MEMBERS ARE INVITED NO CHARGE

MENU

LAKE CAVALIER BASS, BREAM, FRENCH FRIES, COLESLAW, GREENS, HUSHPUPPIES

ICED TEA & DESSERT

BYOB (set-ups provided)

Please: Reservations are appreciated so we will know how much to prepare.

Respond by April 7th

Albert Saik: 601-856-5479 or albertsaik@comcast.net

(If you not already a member of the fishing association please consider joining that night)

A Very Nice Crappie

Mrs. Wilkerson caught this big slab out at the Lake. Thanks to her husband Jim for sending it to me. She also landed a 30 lb catfish on a 6 pound test line. Hope to get that picture soon.

I also understand Gary Garner's son caught a monster bass. I will try to get a picture of that too.

Good Day Yesterday

Despite still being limited by using the little jon-boat, Jimmy Pickle and Coach Robinson had a good haul yesterday. They got 34 bass using jigs and plastic lizards in shallow water.

While reading the Clarion Ledger fishing report today I noticed the Rez has temps of 62-65 degrees, with shallow backwater spots hitting 70 degrees.

The Lake is usually ahead of the Rez on temps so it makes sense that the bass would have been so shallow.

Jimmy said that they were not on the beds yet.

I've got to get Jimmy a better camera. He sent me a cell phone picture of Coach with a nice fish that looks good on the phone, but didn't transfer well to the blog here.

Send along your reports, if you have any.

A Fishing Report, And One That Should Have Been

Jimmy Pickle celebrated his birthday yesterday by doing a little fishing out at the Lake. My bass boat being in the shop, Jimmy had to rough it in our jon-boat, but still had a decent day.

He caught 8 bass up shallow on jigs where he could find wind protected areas.

Here are two nice ones he caught and took pictures of with his cell phone. Notice the length of them in relation to the cooler size.




The wind was a little hard to deal with in the jon-boat, but I think he had a fun day.

Speaking of wind, except for late Friday afternoon, it was very strong from the time I got there Thursday until I left late Saturday afternoon.

But that's not why I can't give you a fishing report of my own.

As some of you know I live in Carthage, about 55 miles from the Lake. Christie, the kids and I loaded up and headed down Thursday afternoon. We brought everything we would need except one thing.

A key to the boathouse.

Since all my tackle was in there, no fishing for me. Had the wind not been up so much I would have gone in and bought a rod and reel. I was very tempted late Friday afternoon to do that.

I felt pretty foolish, I can tell you that.

We were able to take the kids out on the pontoon. I saw a couple of brave souls fighting the wind but the ones I talked to weren't having much luck.

Hopefully soon we will get the boat back from the shop, the wind will subside, and I can get back down soon.

And remember to bring a key.

Jimmy Pickle's Fishing Journal

As many of you know, Jimmy Pickle has done a lot of fishing out at the Lake the last couple of years. He has kept a journal of his trips, and he shared it with me.

These are his results from the last three years......................

2007

Jimmy caught 259 bass for an average of 14.6 bass per trip.

Almost all were caught on just three baits, a diving crankbait, spinnerbait, and a Zell Pop topwater plug.

2008

Jimmy caught 538 bass for an average of 19 bass per trip.

358 of these were on diving crankbaits. The rest were mainly on, lipless crankbaits, Swimming Horny Toads, Zell Pop, swim baits, and spinner baits.

This was the year we had all the grass in the Lake, and the fish held close to the grass.

Ole Jimmy misses the grass.

2009

Jimmy caught 496 bass for an average of 14.5 bass per trip.

Changing tactics because of the grass being gone, he caught 225 on jigs(swimming and regular)
He caught 150 on lipless crankbaits(Such as the Red Eye Shad) 84 on diving crankbaits, and the rest on spinner baits.

All that adds up to a total of 1,293 bass caught in a three year period by just Jimmy alone. An average of 431 bass per year. That's an average of roughly 16.5 fish per trip.

Those are a heck of a group of numbers.

If you counted his fishing partners the avg. per trip would be well over 25 per trip caught.

Another great example of how lucky we are to have the fishery that we have.

It is also a reflection of what a great job Albert and the folks in the Fishing Association have done the last few years in bettering the Lake. Be sure and tell them thanks and, if you haven't already, join the Fishing Association.

I hope to be down later today and tomorrow and try to get a few myself.

Fish Shocking Re-Cap

We had a great turnout for the fish shocking. It was good to visit with everyone. We took out around 500 pounds of bass and a few BIG catfish. Some of the guys from the Fishing Assoc. cleaned all of them yesterday afternoon. They will be used for the fish fry.

We saw some great looking, healthy fish and were told by the SPM folks that we had a great fishery, and that we are very fortunate to have one like it. The slot limit remains 17 inches on the bass. Please keep all bass 17 inches and under.

I will get up the full report from SPM as soon as I can when we get it back.

Here are some photos from yesterday's fish shocking..................................

2 Pound Crappie

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Fish Shocking in Progress

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Lake Shocking Tomorrow

Southeastern pond will shock the lake on Thursday March 11. Everyone interested should meet at the clubhouse at 8:30. If you can help clean fish, bring your filet knife and a cooler. We need all the help we can get.

I'll be out of town Friday but hope to get some pictures of the shocking up Saturday.

Sunny Days and Clear Water

Not a good combination. The water at Lake Cavalier would be basically considered "Clear".
At times it has gotten very clear.

When you have clear water and a bright sunny day the light easily penetrates deeper into the water.

Fish, especially bass, don't like this. They will go deeper or hunt shade.

There have been many days out on the lake where I have seen people throwing big, flashy spinner baits toward the bank on sunny days. Although you might get lucky, you could probably go in and cut the grass because you are just wasting time.

Here are some tips from the bass pros at the "Got Fish" seminar held recently at the Natural Science Museum..........

1) Use Fluorocarbon line. Click the link to learn more about this "invisible" line. (always wet your knot before cinching it with fluorocarbon, this is very important)

2) Use baits that mimic the natural bait colors that are in the Lake. We have crawfish, bream, thread fin shad, and also frogs, snakes, lizards and eels. (yes eels, I pulled an old tire out of the water from beside our pier that had an eel in it.) So go with those colors.... light browns and oranges, pumpkin seed, watermelon, junebug, blues, greens, slivers and blacks. In the crankbaits go with the "sexy shad" color. For more on picking colors, click here for an overview.

3) Look for overhanging trees that provide shade extending out into the water. Use jigs and soft plastics here.

4) Get deeper. Look for structure or sudden bottom changes in water depths of 8-12 feet. We have lots of natural contours on our Lake's bottom. Also stumps, underwater grass and mussel shell beds. Spend time with your depth finder to find these spots. Look for any sudden changes, that's where you want to be. Crankbaits and jigs fished in a variety of ways is the best best at these spots. It's gonna take good old trial and error.

5) Finesse. Fish are spooked easier on days like this. Try the drop shot method. Also use longer casts, putting some distance between you and the spot you are trying to fish. Fish slower and use smaller baits.

These days are tough even on the pros, but trying these tips could be the difference between catching a few and getting shut out.

Hope this helps you put a few more in the boat.

Snow Pictures at the Lake

Thanks to Mrs. Debbie Saik for sending these in.

In my almost 40 years of going, I've never been there to see snow at the Lake. Wish I had been able to this time.

Fishing Report

Although the temps only hit the low 60's, Friday and Saturday seemed down right balmy. As usual, I wasn't able to make it down to the Lake, but my brother in law Craig made it Friday and Jimmy Pickle and his nephew Jason Moore made it Saturday.

Although the temp was up and there was low wind, they did have to contend with very clear skies. Craig still managed to catch 6 in an afternoon of trolling around, including a 5 pounder.

Jimmy and Jason got 13 in about a six hour run, including this nice one............................



While Jimmy and Jason used a few different patterns, they had the most luck with blue-black jigs in shallow water close to deep water. Craig used this same pattern to catch his.

For the next post on the blog I'm going to give some tips I learned from some bass pros at the "Got Fish" meeting about fishing clear water lakes such as ours. Especially on bright sunny days.

On a side note, Bobby Arnold has started a private Facebook page for Lake Cavalier members. If you are a member you can request to join here...............

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=310080248228

Also we tried the Cavalier Fish Lafitte recipe (found in the post below) last night. Turned out very good.

A Great Recipe for Fried Fish

I'm going to call this recipe Cavalier Fish Lafitte. It calls for catfish but bass, bream, and crappie are good this way also. This is one of my favorite ways to prepare catfish. Even those who dislike catfish love it fixed this way. Try it with a salad, mashed potatoes, turnip greens or cheese grits as sides.

Try it and let me know how it turns out.


Cavalier Fish Lafitte

2 large eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons ground red pepper, divided
(may need 2 1/2 teaspoons)
4 farm-raised catfish fillets, about 1 1/2 pounds
Vegetable oil
12 large fresh shrimp, unpeeled
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/4 cup sweet vermouth (if you don't have vermouth you can sub balsamic vinegar)
2 cups whipping cream
1/4 cup chopped green onions, divided
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3 very thin cooked ham slices, cut into strips
Garnish: lemon wedges

Combine eggs and milk, stirring until well blended.

Combine flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon red pepper in a shallow dish. Dredge fish in flour mixture; dip in milk mixture. Dredge again in flour mixture.

Pour oil to a depth of 3 inches into a Dutch oven; heat to 360 degrees F. Fry fish 5 to 6 minutes or until golden; drain on paper towels. Keep warm.

Peel shrimp; devein, if desired. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add shrimp and garlic, and cook until shrimp turn pink, stirring often. Remove shrimp, reserving drippings.

Stir vermouth into reserved drippings; bring to a boil, and cook 1 minute. Add whipping cream, 2 tablespoons green onions, lemon juice, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1 to 2 teaspoons red pepper; cook 12 to 15 minutes or until sauce is thickened, stirring often.

Place catfish on a serving plate, and drizzle with sauce. Top with shrimp and ham; sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons green onions. Garnish, if desired.

Servings: 4

NOTE: I make the sauce first and keep it warm. I then fry the fish and finish the dish.

Fishing Report

Jimmy Pickle went for a while one afternoon early this week. He had a so-so day, catching 6 on blue black jigs.

I wish I could be at the Lake to take some pictures today of the snow.

If anybody has any they would like to share, email them to me and I'll get them up.

My dad and I attended the "Got Fish" seminar at the Natural Science museum last Saturday. If you ever get a chance to go, I think you would enjoy it if your are interested in fishing. 6 Bass pros on the panel had some good tips, from beginner to advanced. The salt water section was interesting also.

Spring seems a long way off today as the snow falls.

Fishing Report

Jimmy and Glen took advantage of the warmer weather and hit the Lake yesterday after some bass.

They caught 18 on deep running crankbaits, red eye spinnerbaits, and jigs in the shallows.

Anybody else been out fishing any? If so, I would love to hear some reports.

Too Cold For Me

I was at the Lake last weekend for a night. We attended a New Year's eve party in Madison and decided to spend the night at the Lake afterward.

The next morning was way to cold for me to try to fish. I love it, but not that much.

A few days before that, Jimmy Pickle and Glen Robinson did go out on a 65 degree day and caught 14 nice ones. They were using Red Eye Shads. Most were caught on the west side of the Lake near the end of piers.

That may have been their slowest day of the year.

They also snapped this photo.


Kinda hard to tell, but that is a dead deer floating in the Lake. (click on the photo for a larger view.)