Upchurch Today

Well hit Upchurch this morning , got on the water about 0845, after going by Guss's and picking up some minnows. All Guss had was medium, but I tried them. The air temp was in the mid 60 I would guess the water was 67. I headed over over to the two trees that are to the east of the fishing pier in the middle of the lake.  I had one rod rigged with jigs and the other with the minnows. I had Bass Pro triple tail grubs on both jigs both chartreuse, one solid and one with a orange tail. Both of the rigs were on Caps Coleman crappie rigs. I was trolling along about 1.5 mph into the wind, not too far past the end of the pier the rod with the jigs bent over. I pulled in a small crappie. The thing is it was the first crappie that I have ever caught on a jig , and the first fish caught on the yak with all the rigging complete. All the other crappie I have caught were on minnows, so that was cool. Of course, it could have been because of the size of the minnows why nothing hit them. Although they were not that big I am sure a good size crappie could have taken one. Here is the small one:


After that I got about half way to the second tree when my port rod spun around from front face to rear. I grabbed it and the fight was on. This one fought well took drag and made me work for him on the 4lbs test line.  I got him (or Her) up and was very happy. Not only was it a nice crapie but it was big enough for points in the kayak wars. This one also hit the jig.



THe rest of the day was uneventful. I Put the large crappie in my floating live well but released him later since I did not want to mess with just one fish. Here it is in the live well.



Tried to find some carp at one spot, but the wind was really up out there so headed back to the ramp. I then realized that I didn't have my life vest on, or ion the boat. I was so excited about trying the new mods and getting the boat into the water I completely forgot the vest ...Pretty stupid.

Here's stupid posing for the evidence picture glad no fish and game out there, not to mention that I stayed in the boat. no fish and game out there, not to mention that I stayed in the boat.

Congrats on the crappie! Glad you didn't have any mishaps without your life vest. 

Nicely done.  Had some stuff come up so I couldn't make it out.

I went by there today just to talk with the guy a bit.  His step son was out there and told me that the boat ramp will be closing Monday for the rest of the season.  Said they were draining the lake soon to restock or something.  Sounded a bit odd to me.

Alright, well I guess that place is out for a small boat get together. Thanks for the info.

Honestly, it all sounded a bit odd to me so I'm not sure how true it is.  Draining the lake to restock it?  I may try to swing by there again this week to confirm.

Alright, let me know what you find out please. We may have to go to Mott or somewhere else if it's true.

You are right Chris that does sound wrong. They do lower the lake to do regular maintenance on the dam and let the property owners work on their docks and ramps. That is a more likely reason to lower it.  Got to consider the source there also, the kid that takes my money when I go is not the sharpest crayon in the box.  I don't doubt that they are going to lower the lake, he is more than likely just confused about the reason. 

If we need a new place in Nov. There is always the other Upchurch lake on the Game lands, over by Bobby Parkers. It had a lot of fish, all be it small ones last year. But it had only been refilled and restocked  3 years at that time. So it could be pretty good now. It is small, shallow and open (so wind is a slight problem ) but is free and relatively close. Closer than Mott Lake, though not by much. It is just around the corner from Mott Lake, and you don't need an FT. Bragg permit for those that that would be an issue. Stephen Fields fishes there quite a bit, I have not heard from him in a while but we might get his opinion. 

There is always the river, if it is down around normal, it is not a hard paddle. Sahronand I have paddled upstream for a couple of miles at a very leisurely paddle, not strenuous at all.We could put in down from Arnette park off Old Willmington Hwy. It has a bad rep for unsavories after dark, but Hemi and I have never had any trouble during daylight hours. It would be fun to feel a big cat tugging on the other end of the line. Also, if you don't anchor up you could get a free Cape Fear sleigh ride.   There are LM Bass, crappie, carp and some really big gar in there also.It is  a Wild Life Ramp so it is free to launch.

Just my thoughts .