68camaro

So, here is what I found out about Briery after talking to one of the conservation officers in charge of managing it plus several others: Every year they do a spring electric shock Spring of 2017 they noticed # of bass is up, most bass in size of 18 - 20", however trophy bass population is down. Last shock they got one 24" (8-9lbs), and a lot of 18-20" in 4-6lb range...quantity up, trophy sizes down. Trophy sized bass in Briery are down for following reasons: 1st stocking in 80's and those bass got huge because little competition 1st stocking started dying out in 2000's 2nd stocking group was in 90's, again these grew big due to lack of competition 2nd group started dying off recently Subsequent stockings did not get as large and chances are will not grow as big as first two stockings due to increased competition and maturity of lake. As lake ages fish normally are smaller for reasons stated. Grass Carp & Hydrilla Hydrilla is invasive vegetation and chokes out spawning areas, natural grasses/weeds and uses lots of nutrients that will normally fuel plankton which is imoprtant to baitfish food chain. Fisherman loved hydrilla because they can catch alot of LM fishing its edges, but it comes at big cost to fisheries ecosystem and health. There was more bass when they had tons of hydrilla but the fishery was less healthy and was not sustainable. Grass carp were introduced 10 years ago to control the hydrilla which was choking out natural grass and weeds. The grass carp have done their job and the conservation folks are concerned about lack of vegetation. The grass carp are starting to die out. 1/3 of 1st stocking of grass carp are dead and rest are aging so not as threatening as younger carp. Helping Briery With hydrilla under control they have noticed an increase in natural pond grasses and weeds. They also have a plan to reintroduce natural grasses shortly. The lake is stocked with 250,000 1" - 4" bluegill each year and they have reported increases in natural bluegill which is very positive for the lake and bass - Looks like I am switching to Blugill patterns from shad:) Bottom line is they are aware of anglers complaining about less trophy fish but they are increasing the numbers of fish in 18-20" range. Of the local lakes: Briery has most quality fish Sandy River - most trophy size Lake Burton - most huge fish but are reportably very difficult to catch - sounds like a challenge:) .

Never fished it but what club is it?

Wow, where do I start. I have a 21 yo and 14 yo. and will tell you exactly what I told them or would tell them. Here are quotes from your statement above and I ask you to read them and ask yourself how do you come across and is this who you really are? *"Schedule" is pretty good *"freedom" is good *stress is high, very labor intensive - this comes across as you are saying it is a negative *finding workers is becoming impossible *I honestly have no clue what I would enjoy everyday, *I get bored with anything and like to switch it up whether it is a hobby or work. *What I do enjoy and always will is money. - trust me on this, money motivates only for a time....... *Looking for something that starts at $17 plus an hour and goes up from there fairly quickly. *Don't want to be forced to work 60 hours a week or be away from home. *don't want to leave family behind. Then you say the following: "I could be a great asset to any company" - My question to you is HOW? I re-read your post several times and you don't ONCE say what you have to offer an employer or your skills except for a degree. You say you work in family construction company but don't say what you do ....bookkeeper, framer, generalist, roofer, mason??? Why can't you grow business or take in different direction? I wish I knew a field that fit your needs but I can't imagine it exists...maybe work for local municipality, state or federal gov't.

G-Man is pretty funny plus I love his "mental" focus on fishing...crosses into a lot of areas of life. I'll stop by booth to intro myself if you are around.

Great story and beautiful fish.......I threw big Huddleston yesterday with one bit but no landings.

Gotta love a happy ending......

Dang...great fish:)

I think you meant 19-21st, I missed it last year and very much looking forward to it this year so just put ion calendar.........good speakers and seminars scheduled so far also.

From the bank it works well. I used one in local ponds bank fishing and it really helped on getting depth, structure etc. I use a Lowrance from kayak, the Deeper will work well in Kayak but once you throw it out you need to hold phone to see it and sun is issue, plus if you want to fish while reading screen you really only have one hand, assuming Deeper rod is in rod holder. Plus if you throw deeper to mid - shallow area it will scare most fish anywhere near the hard splash. For drop-shotting you can have it drag next to yak while slowly moving then once you see something drop bait down. However, it will be good in yak trying to learn bottom, look for structure, schools, dips, etc..I think I'd get Deeper now and save up for fish finder for next year.

Welcome.......glad to have ya'. I vacationed in Italy once....great people, great food and amazing country.

I only starting fishing Briery a few weeks ago, launching yak at Landing Road access, but during my first outing there I was surprised there was so little vegetation, I chalked it up to being late November but had no idea of its history and the grass carp issue. I usually fish Swift Creek Res. which is shallow & choked with hydrilla so Briery being deep (relatively for us) with so much standing timber is nice different type of fishery.

I just watched a video called "Flippin Heavy Cover" and 99.98% was pitching, he explained the diffeernce but explained why he preferred pitching.....It was very good but I just don't know why they didn't call it "Pitching Heavy Cover"....go figure!

Bank 75%, yak 25% only because I have two ponds in neighborhood and a couple by work I can do from 30 min to couple hours so I get to it several times a week, while yak keeps me out from half to full day so I go much less due to less time to go.

That stinks, they put grass carp in our local ponds and vegetation is much less while fishing is tougher. I fished Briery today, water temps 47'ish and off and on wind. In 15' of water I caught a 5.45LB LM jigging a Binsky Blade bait on finesse setup with 6lb mono. I saw two on sonar and caught one on 2 or 3rd twitch. This is my second time there, first was 3weeks ago and fish are still 15" and above. I did catch a 8" one today though.

This sucks sorry to hear........You live down a 1/4 mile driveway at end of dead-end, guy spends 10 min trying to start your truck and propably finds key to start it.........sounds like someone knew what they wanted and where it was.

Bummer, I am in Chesterfield and you are 1 1/2 hrs away, if it wasn't so close to Christmas I would make the trip. Gary Yamamoto 100 and 200 Chikara hard baits are my favorite cranks. I just ordered 8 from Field and Stream as they are having a sale ion them, once they are gone I am told by the Yamamoto they are gone. I have found some on ebay so I am trying to stock up. It sad as they are huge fishing attracting baits for me.

Welcome!

My current 8 rod lineup; 1 - Megabass 2 - Custom 5 - Dobyns

Considering a cane pole and line with bait will catch bass I say yes, I am guilty of overkill. When fly fishing I have a Tenkara rod (rod and line - no reel) plus expensive Orvis rigs. Each works. If you want fun try landing a 1 1/2lb LM with a lightweight Tenkara fly rod:) I think as a fishing hobbyist, gear is part of the hobby and it is way easier catching fish when your gear is tailored to the species, technique and bait. Part of the enjoyment of fishing is understanding the nuances of how rods, line, bait, tackle and reels all interact to increase chances of boating that fish. As far as OP, I caught a 10+ lb flat head on spinnerbait rod and it was best fight I had in very long time. It just wasn't giving up easy.

Gbassman, When we were there we all caught some and some guys at doc afterward had good luck with chatterbaits and caught 5lb+. I have heard alot of good reports here so I plan to get back soon.

Lousy until I met up with a couple of the Central Kayak meetup folks. They've fished here quite a bit so fishing with them I was able to get a couple, largest being 3.65lbs on a 5' crankbait which for me is a really nice fish. All our fish were in the 15-20" range. I usually fish ponds and Swift Creek Resevoir which are shallow with a ton of vegetation, so Briery was nice difference being deep with a lot of timber but barely any vegetation. In my usual spots my fishfinder is really of limited use but on Briery it really proved itself useful and I was able to see how helpful it is.

As other eluded to, whats best for you depends on how you will fish the worms and where. For example, I rarely ever fish worms in deep water, I don't drop-shot or fish deep water. The vast majority of time I use worms it's skipping under trees, into tight shallow spots etc....I never drop shot and rarely t-rig in open or deep water. So for me I like a spinning setup because I can skip a spinning rod/reel WAY WAY better than a baitcaster. I personally use a Megabass Orochi X4 F3-610X4S Aarons Martin Limited - FINESSEE rod; Med-light/Medium Power, Med/Fast Action paired with a Shimano Stradic Ci4+ 2500FA 6.0:1. Think first how you will fish a worm and where, this will dictate optimum set-up....or two......:)

Fishing Briery Creek for first time tomorrow? Anyone been there and can you offer any advice? I will be in kayak. I know there's very large 10lb + bass there,

Birdman126, I think learning patience , at least for me, is critical. I have been focused on bass fishing for really second season and I get frustated easy, switch baits, techniques, locations maybe too soon. I have been watching "Fact of Fishing" episodes and I was suprised how many casts Dave took to catch a fish, the following are two show stats: Punching: 4 hrs, 467 casts, 17 fish equals 1 fish per 27 casts. Forgot episode (I think bank hitting) - 7 hrs, 581 casts, 15 fish 38 casts per fish (11 LM) This surprised me, Dave goes long time without catching fish but he keeps grinding it out and ends up with good averages. I just started counting casts with a target of 35 casts to catch a fish. I have also learned that different techniques/baits have higher hit and hookup ratios than others so I've needed to adjust expectations accordingly. Also, my waters are pretty pressured so having 20 fish days like some here is unrealistic for me. Since I typically fish 1-4 hrs, but often, if I get a couple I am happy. Also jig fisherman in motorized boats have big advantage because you can cover alot of water quickly, whereas for me in kayak I have less of opportunity. So to help even the odds this mid-summer I started experimenting with searchbaits to find productive water quickly or eliminate unproductive quickly. Also, I have learned t-rigs are great for the heavy hydrilla areas I fish so I use these alot and try different trailers, punching hydrilla was also hard for me but I've learned I just need to keep at it so next summer I will stick with technique, be more patient and see what happens, I just order punch jigs/weights to get all set up.

Thanks, Late last night put in my first order, cross section of jigs as this is technique I want to be better at.