North Carolina

Jordan Lake NC
Report submitted by James Poirrier

April 9, 2009

Water temp: 57-60
Water clarity: very stained

I had the pleasure of fishing  the 2009 USAJFKSWCS Tournament today with Henry from Deep Creek Lures.  First I want to extend a sincere thank you to Marie and Henry for supporting the military.  They are tireless in their endeavor to show complete support to all branches of service, and it shines through in their efforts like the tournament today. They, as well as myself are also big sponsors of Warriors on the Water which is coming up this week.

Now on to A Day On The Lake with Henry and James.

We started out north around Bush Creek to get away from any of the crowds I knew were going to be out today.  Started  out shallow  fishing some of the bushes still in the water which were very few since the water dropped.  Henry got hung up a few times and I jokingly told him I was going to call Marie and do a partner swap if he didn't straitened up and fly right and there were no fish in the trees.  He told me to just have the net ready cause he was about to start putting some fish in the boat. We found no takers in the area we were in, so we moved to another area I had found during the BFL the weekend prior, didn't catch a fish there during the BFL, but there were a few there today.  Flipped a  Green Pumpkin/Green Flake Deep Creek Stump Thumper  with a 1/2 oz tungsten weight and felt the infamous tick, swung and missed the fish. While I was getting my lure back together Henry saw another stump and pitched to it and found a 16 1/2 bass with a June Bug Deep Creek 9 inch lizard. It was all over then, He wanted to know if he was needed up front to show me how to catch a fish, I told him no and to stay on his end of the boat and just to get ready with the net. So we continued down the same pocket and came up on a willow still in the water, and again I flipped the Stump Thumper  and found a connection with a nice 5 1/2 pounder, I didn't know Henry could move that fast, but he was ready with the net when she gave up the fight.  After running that pocket and me missing another fish that again became a joking topic of our discussion, at about noon we decided to head back south because the wind was picking up and it was a long run, not wanting to have to run that long to get back to the ramp we ended up in Bush Creek to finish out last hours of the tournament. The wind got up pretty good causing even the pockets to white cap and we finally settled on a protected bank just off the main creek. It was unproductive until the last 10 minutes we had to weigh in, thats when Henry said to hang on as I looked back he made a sweeping hook set even the pro's would have been jealous of . I saw his rod double over and a 7 1/2 pounder come walking to the top. I grabbed the net and headed to the back. After getting her into the live well,  all either of us could do was smile. The weigh in came and we saw 1-2 fish going back after the weigh in, and we though we might just have a shot at this 35-40 boat tournament to cap the day off. Sure enough we weighed in 16.44 pounds with 3 fish and earned 1st place. We came in second on big fish, someone weighed in one over 8 pounds. The memories of this day will stick in my mind for a long time, it was a great change of pace from the high pressure tournament days we get wrapped up in sometimes.  Henry thanks again for a great day, I had a blast to say the least, and to both you and Marie thanks for all your support. It's Americans like you both that makes our job in the military worth every second!

For more information and some great fishing tips, please visit my website.

James Poirrier
www.jamespoirrier.com

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Shearon Harris Reservoir
Report submitted by James Poirrier

March 21, 2009
Water temp 50-53
Water Color: stained

Rich Z and I fished the Pine State Open on Harris today. I had been on the water since Thurs trying to figure out what the fish were doing. I didn't really find a concentration of fish until about 11 am on Friday, I knew it was going to be an afternoon bite. Once I found them I put the boat on the trailer and looked forward to blast off Sat morning. Sat morning we started out with cranks and spinner baits, we immediately started catching a few here and there, by about 1030 we made the move to what was found Friday, and it was on from that time until about 15 minutes before weigh in. We managed to put well over 60 pounds worth of fish in the boat, including a 9.93 pounder which took big fish for the tournament and ended up weighing in 5 fish for 39.34 pounds. Now what were we using is what everyone will want to know. Rich was hopping a black/blue jig and I was using a Deep Creek Razor Beetle with a 1/2 oz Tru Tungsten weight. It was the one two punch that was getting the bites in several key areas. We managed 5 fish over the slot in one pocket alone. The key was to fish SLOW, because the fish were moving in and out of the areas feeding once the water warmed and the sun came out. This was one of those days that will go down in history, I don't know what the heaviest weight is on Harris for 5 fish, but we have to be close to that record. I do know the 10 fish limit is right at 70 pounds, and I believe we would have broken that record because we were culling 5 and 6 pounders. The weather this week is going to be on the rise, and the fish will start to move into the 2 foot range, by this coming weekend look for the males to be making beds and the females will be right behind.

Rich and I fished the BFL on Kerr Lake earlier in the month. We both blanked. Those who fish tournaments know about the mind set that can take hold after taking a beating at a tournament, especially one that points mean the difference between making it further or sitting at home. This is just what we both needed to get us out of that haze. I'll be getting ready for Jordan BFL starting next weekend!!

For more information and some great fishing tips, please visit my website.

James Poirrier
www.jamespoirrier.com