Bob Smith
Bob Smith
bob@bassinbobs.com

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"BOBS LOCAL RIVER REPORTS"

 YELLOW RIVER


June 15, 2002
Water Temperature: 84
Water Clarity: Clear

After a month of no fishing I finally made it onto the water today! Launcehd form Brown's Fish Camp of Yellow River at about 7am and fished until noon. Sky was clear and cloudless with a moderate wind out of the north following last nights frontal passage. Water was clear and 84 degrees. Tide was low.
Started off with a buzzbait down the cut beside Brown's.
Fished the topwater all the way through without a bite.
Finally caught my first fish in the grass around 9am - the one and only topwater fish of the morning.
Fishing was real slow, no doubt due to the front and typical summer fishing on these Northwest Florida rivers.
Eased out of Yellow River and up into Ward Basin. It has been probably three years since I fished there. Gone were the large, expansive, eel grass beds that ringed the basin. These grass beds were the primary bass holding attraction of the area even though there are tons of docks. I spent an hour or so fishing the basin without a single bass. I did catch a croaker and a
large flounder though on a junebut Baby Eel.
Out of the basin and back into Yellow River I went, baffled at where those Ward Basin (an area where I have won several tournaments) bass had gone.
But, I didn't fish it long or hard enough, and given the present conditions fishing was pretty tough everywhere I went. I'll look at Ward Basin again under better conditions.
Back on Yellow River I worked deeper banks along the main river for the rest of the day. I managed to pull two additional bass for a total of 3 all morning. They were holding pretty tight to laydown cover along 15-20 foot deep banks.
I put me baby Eel up against the bank, let it sink with the
bail open on my spinning rod, and watch for the line to twitch. With the wind blowing it was pretty much a visual thing since I could not feel anything on the wind-blown slack.
At noon I pulled out with a total catch of 3 bass, 1 flounder and 1 croaker. Not a good day by a long shot, but hey I finally made it onto the water again!


December 14, 2000
Water Temperature: 54-58
Water Clarity: Clear

It was calm and cloudy when I launched at Brown's on Yellow River. After a little while the wind picked up from the northwest. Then the clouds went mostly away.
The days fishing was in tune with the changing conditions.
The tide was low and falling - generating some strong current, water was clear and ranged from 54 - 58 degrees.
Sky was cloudy then clearing.
Early I picked up some fish at the river's mouth on a black, Allen Lures, Baby Eel and an Allen Lures TP3 jerkbait.
Two nice keepers and about 8 short fish before the wind came up. As the wind picked up the bites went down. For the next several hours I didn't get so much as a tap!
As afternoon came in the clouds broke up a bit and the sun actually came out. I was working upriver towards the ramp and threw my buzzbait up behind a small grass point. Wham! A nice 3
pounder came to the boat.
I had not thrown a topwater much since all me bites had been in 10 foot of water or were real sluggish. Now, I pressed on the rest of the afternoon with the buzzer.
Working quickly, and retrieving against the current I managed another 15 fish on the topwater before calling it a day around 3pm. The fish were sitting tight to any cover available
(since the tide was out) in less than a foot of water!
Total for the day stood at 25 bass ranging from tiny (on the jerkbait) to a beautiful, perfectly marked, fish of around 6 or 7 pounds which ate my buzzbait. Anytime I can catch bass on a
topwater its a good day - today was a little bit better. Wonder how I would have done had I tossed the topwater all day?