# Lathem Reservoir - 1/31/09



## russ010

Another cold day.. well, 24* @ 8am when I hit the water. First few casts were caked with ice - I tried the reel magic. I sprayed it on the line, rod eyelets, and on the reel spooler... worked like a charm actually. 

I had 3 bites, and 2 were brought into the boat. It has been tough out there for the last couple of weeks, but I've managed to get atleast 1 each trip except for 1.. so 2 total skunks for January. Todays weather was cold and WINDY - gusts up to 30mph, with sustained around 15-20.

1130am... The wind died down for about 20 min.. just long enough for me to get a professional birds nest. I had to cut the line out and respool. The wind picked back up for the first cast, but luckily I hit pay dirt. I cast to a steep drop off the bank, and before I could spool up my line, the LM below was already at me heading for deeper water. This one weighed in at 2lb 1oz. 












I tired several different places after this, but I was fighting the wind something fierce. I did buy an extra battery and had a bad one replaced yesterday, so I now have 4 deep cycle 29 series batts in the boat. 2 for the front TM, 2 for the rear.

I decided to fish a place I've never really fished before, but I see guys heading straight for it all the time. I looked at it earlier in the week in the water shed office and I saw where 2 creek channels join. Well, 1 creek channel with a run off from the woods. Either way, 1st cast into it and I thought I was hung.. but something was different. Luckily I didn't bow and arrow the line to un-snag it because it just felt funny. I tightened up the line and gave a few tight pops (like when drop shotting). Sure enough, the last pop triggered this LM into deeper water. The last time I had a fish just eat the worm like this (eat and sit still, there was a 10lb'r on the end).. this one weighed in at 4lb 2oz... and he was fat. He must have come up from deep water - actually I think a lot of LM are coming out. I've only caught a few spots this year, which is unusual.












Hopefully Bassboy1 and I will be able to post some more fish tomorrow when we venture out to a hole that has been known to hold a few hawgs...


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## OhioStateBuckeye

Its going to be 40 degrees out im going to be hitting up crappies like no other, i spent too much on crappie gear not to get some lol


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## Captain Ahab

Nice job - way to stay with them on a cold day!


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## Nickk

nice job! Are you fishing Senko type baits weightless?


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## ilinimud

Yes, do tell how you caught them, please. Nice job by the way. Patience is a virtue.....that i dont have.


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## BassNBob

This time I would love to be catching some like that. WTG


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## poolie

Great report Russ. Today's weather is to be much nicer than yesterday's so hopefully you and bassboy will get into them again today.

Man, this just underscores my need to to finish (or should I say, get started on) my boat and get out on the water. Last weekend I took measurements of the front half of the boat and laid out my framing plan. Ordered the aluminum angle and tube and am waiting (somewhat impatiently) for it to arrive. 

-- Poolie


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## russ010

Both of those fish was caught with the following setup.. I only give line size because it does make a difference in how fast the bait falls... forgot to mention - I don't use senkos - at all really. I have 1 pack for 1 lake, and I was there today and didn't use them. 

Line: Seaguar 15# Red Line Fluorocarbon
jig head: Davis Shakey Head Jig, Super Long - 3/16
plastic: Roboworm Oxblood Light 6"
I also put a secret "special sauce" on the worm... ok, not special - chartreuse garlic


As far as today with this perfect weather before storm... we got SKUNKED! I had a few bites as did bassboy, but no one out there was catching anything. And we tried everything. 

poolie - you gotta get ya boat finished man! But take your time and do it right the first time... if you ordered aluminum angle, I can already tell you are doing this the right way


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## Specknreds

Nice catching for such a cold day!!


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## mr.fish

A 4lber is def. worth the trip in the cold. And at least you have some open water to fish. 

Nice catch


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## hengstthomas

WTG Russ  Thanks for the report and pics !


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## daltonmcgill

cool


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## poolie

russ010 said:


> poolie - you gotta get ya boat finished man! But take your time and do it right the first time... if you ordered aluminum angle, I can already tell you are doing this the right way



Russ, you have no idea. It was bad enough when I was saving the money to buy the boat. Now it's sitting in the backyard taunting me. But yes it has to be done right. Maybe the three years I spent at Southern Tech working on a Mechanical Engineering degree (before changing majors) will come in handy. The framing will be aluminum but decided to go with a wooden deck for now. Instead of the extra money for the aluminum decking I ordered one of the Tempress low-back Navistyle seats today. My goal is to be done by the beginning of March and I'm sure that's doable. 

-- Poolie


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## russ010

I think you'll be good for March - that's around the time when the fishing starts heating up anyways. I heard on WSBradio today that Kirk Mellish is calling for an "interesting" end of Feb and March weather forecast... he said the conditions / time line are right for record breaking winters


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## poolie

...and Mellish is the *man* when it comes to weather in Atlanta, I'm a talk-radio junkie.


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## russ010

poolie said:


> .. I'm a talk-radio junkie.



me too... my hour and a half (on a good day) drive to work - well, neal boortz keeps me entertained


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## ilinimud

russ010 said:


> poolie said:
> 
> 
> 
> .. I'm a talk-radio junkie.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> me too... my hour and a half (on a good day) drive to work - well, neal boortz keeps me entertained
Click to expand...


Yeah, i have an hour drive to work and am a big fan of sports talk. Mike and Mike in the morning keep me awake on the drive home after working all night!


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## russ010

I've got a question for you guys in regards to what I thought was a 4lb fish... I did measure it - 19" long and 16" girth. I put those measurements in a calculator and it says the fish weighed 4.8lbs... Which do you think is more accurate? I've caught a lot of big bass, and it really felt like it was closer to 4lbs than 5lbs - but it was fat. I should have taken more pictures, like me holding it up - but I didn't because I will fish tournaments there and I didn't want anyone to see the size fish I caught and where I caught it. 

I've always recommended the Rapala digital scales - but in 25lb scale. I've got a new 50lb scale and it is touchy... I weighed bassboys anchor this weekend with it, and it was close


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## Brine

russ010 said:


> I've got a question for you guys in regards to what I thought was a 4lb fish... I did measure it - 19" long and 16" girth. I put those measurements in a calculator and it says the fish weighed 4.8lbs... Which do you think is more accurate? I've caught a lot of big bass, and it really felt like it was closer to 4lbs than 5lbs - but it was fat. I should have taken more pictures, like me holding it up - but I didn't because I will fish tournaments there and I didn't want anyone to see the size fish I caught and where I caught it.
> 
> I've always recommended the Rapala digital scales - but in 25lb scale. I've got a new 50lb scale and it is touchy... I weighed bassboys anchor this weekend with it, and it was close



Russ, that old way of calculating a bass' weight is outdated. There is a new formula that works similar to the triangular method but you need the software and it's expensive. Fortunately, I have the software. If you provide me your gps coordinates at the time the fish was caught, I can plug in your measuremtents and get a more accurate reading on the fish's weight for you. 

Also, I like your optimism in buying a 50# scale. All I need is a 2# scale in my boat. :lol: 

All joking aside, I would guess closer to 4# like you suspect. That fish looks like he's trying to grow into his head. Nice fish tho, and a great fish from Lathem.


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## russ010

I don't know how to get the GPS coordinates, but I'll see what I can find. 

I've got a pattern on them - and in them, I'm referring to Largemouth which is all I've been catching lately. They are definitely bigger this year.

I looked into joining your jon boat club... all of the places you fish are a little too far away for me to get to. When I get a new boat, and more than likely a new truck, I'll look into joining. I looked at when you're fishing Lathem in April, and I've got military drill that weekend in SC. Actually every other date you have for tournaments interfer with military, so it probably wouldn't be worth me joining anyways since I could only fish half of the tournaments.


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## Brine

russ010 said:


> I looked into joining your jon boat club... all of the places you fish are a little too far away for me to get to. When I get a new boat, and more than likely a new truck, I'll look into joining. I looked at when you're fishing Lathem in April, and I've got military drill that weekend in SC. Actually every other date you have for tournaments interfer with military, so it probably wouldn't be worth me joining anyways since I could only fish half of the tournaments.



Dang! Sorry to hear that, but glad for the reason. Thanks again for your service.

I'd be happy to take you out on any of the lakes we fish on a free weekend. Just let me know. Not sure if I'll have the new rig ready by spring or not, but I'm working on it.


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## poolie

Yeah, yeah... let us know where you caught those guys. Promise not to tell anyone 

Bummer about the weekend schedule conflicts, but we do appreciate your military service.

-- Poolie


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## russ010

if you ever see my blue boat out there, you'll know I'm sitting on something. Besides, I don't mind sharing my spots with friends... but if I see you on the water and I don't know you, you won't see what I caught, nor will I tell you where or what I was using... this website does have fringe benefits


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## russ010

Brine said:


> I'd be happy to take you out on any of the lakes we fish on a free weekend. Just let me know. Not sure if I'll have the new rig ready by spring or not, but I'm working on it.



dude you name the time and place and I'm most likely there. If you want to get up here and prefish lathem, we can do that too.


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## ilinimud

Im horrible at guessing a fish's weight. I caught one at 18" 16 girth and it was real fat. I assumed it to be close to 5#, but i have second guessed ever since. I now have a Berkley scale, and it weighed a 12# anchor at 11.8# 5 times so i guess it works good.


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## Brine

Hey Poolie/Russ,

Not to hijack the Lathem thread, but since you guys live out that way I wanted you to know that Randall Kirkpatrick is giving a Trophy Bass seminar in a month or so at Natures Tacklebox in Hiram. If either of you are interested, let me know and I can send you the info. I will probably be there. He just had a seminar in Marietta on Swimbaits, and it was good.


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## HOIST-N-HAWGS

Nice Russ! You're toturing us northern guys!


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## russ010

Brine said:


> Hey Poolie/Russ,
> 
> Not to hijack the Lathem thread, but since you guys live out that way I wanted you to know that Randall Kirkpatrick is giving a Trophy Bass seminar in a month or so at Natures Tacklebox in Hiram. If either of you are interested, let me know and I can send you the info. I will probably be there. He just had a seminar in Marietta on Swimbaits, and it was good.




Brine - send me the info. I missed the swimbaits at The Dugout because I had military.. funny how that always runs interference for me. Randall is one of the best bass fisherman I know in the state of GA.. I read all of his posts all over GON and the other website that I can't remember the name of. That dude is awesome.


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## Brine

russ010 said:


> Brine said:
> 
> 
> 
> Hey Poolie/Russ,
> 
> Not to hijack the Lathem thread, but since you guys live out that way I wanted you to know that Randall Kirkpatrick is giving a Trophy Bass seminar in a month or so at Natures Tacklebox in Hiram. If either of you are interested, let me know and I can send you the info. I will probably be there. He just had a seminar in Marietta on Swimbaits, and it was good.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Brine - send me the info. I missed the swimbaits at The Dugout because I had military.. funny how that always runs interference for me. Randall is one of the best bass fisherman I know in the state of GA.. I read all of his posts all over GON and the other website that I can't remember the name of. That dude is awesome.
Click to expand...


PM SENT


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## poolie

Brine said:


> Hey Poolie/Russ,
> 
> Not to hijack the Lathem thread, but since you guys live out that way I wanted you to know that Randall Kirkpatrick is giving a Trophy Bass seminar in a month or so at Natures Tacklebox in Hiram. If either of you are interested, let me know and I can send you the info. I will probably be there. He just had a seminar in Marietta on Swimbaits, and it was good.



Excellent! I just live about 3 miles from the store. Thanks for the heads up. PM me the info if you don't mind so I can mark my calendar.

-- Poolie


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## russ010

If I lived that close to that store... I'd be broke. I haven't been there before though, do they have a lot of good stuff, and is it expensive?


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## poolie

russ010 said:


> If I lived that close to that store... I'd be broke. I haven't been there before though, do they have a lot of good stuff, and is it expensive?



Unfortunately for Christie (the owner) I have not been in there as often as I would like. Not because it's not a cool store, it is, I've just been saving money for boat stuff over the past several months so haven't fed the bait monkey lately.

The owner is into trout fishing, and some of the store is dedicated to that, but mostly the inventory is geared towards bass fishing and she is very responsive to customer requests. Pricing wise, I haven't done a store wide survey, but from what I've seen the prices are a little more than BPS, but not crazy expensive... and 55 miles closer.

Hope you can make it.

-- Poolie


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## bassboy1

It is going to be about on par with the Dugout, or Nutter. All of these smaller tackle stores in the area are going to be fairly competitive in pricing. While I haven't been there, I have bought quite a few things from there (called a list in, and got dad's coworker to pick it up), and if Christie doesn't have it, she will get it for you. Plus, Mike is in there any day that he has nothing else to do, so the chances of seeing him in there are pretty great, especially on Wednesday's. Great little tackle shop, stocking most everything we use around here (even the odd stuff you can't get from the Big Box stores. If you are in the area, I would head over there. It seems to be the #1 store in the area on Mike's site, and keep in mind, just about every store in the area has sponsored his site at one time or another.


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