Sunday, June 1, 1997

Fish biting at O.H. Ivie

By Jerry O'Bryant / Abilene Reporter-News

If you were fishing at Lake O.H. Ivie this past Thursday and Friday you found the bass were biting - and so were some of the people who work around the lake.

The bass were gnawing on plastic worms and lizards fished in three to 15 feet of water. The irate Ivieites, including several guides and the concession operators at Concho Park, were savaging the considerable hulk of an outdoor writer who had recently written a short article for a state-wide magazine, wherein the writer said (more or less) that the fishing at Ivie was lousy and the marina operators at the lake were in "disastrous" trouble due to a lack of business.

Where the writer came up with his conclusions is something of a mystery, since nobody at Ivie can recall seeing this big fellow on the lake in recent history, but if the mood around the lake Thursday and Friday was any indication, the outdoor writer in question had better be well disguised if he ever shows up there in the future.

Durwood Strickland and Rick Peeples are two of the most popular, and busy, fishing guides at Lake Ivie and their assessment of the fishing situation is a far cry from that of the evidently ill-informed outdoor writer. Rick says the spring catch on bass at Ivie has been very good, and that includes two bass over 10 pounds he caught this past week.

Incidentally, for those of us who have been trying to hurry the big-bass bite in deep water at the lake, Peeples says he took both those 10-pounders in three to six feet depths on 10-inch plastic Power Worms. There are obviously a number of big bass still moving in the 77-degree shallows at Ivie.

Thursday afternoon our fishing group included Abilene Fishing Village Marina owner Warren Trull, Hydra-Sports boat representative Bob Taylor and Durwood Strickland. Durwood was test driving one of Taylor's new Hydra-Sports bass boats, attempting to give the rest of us fishing lessons and tried to founder us on plank-sized T-bones later that evening.

Despite all the ruckus and previous publicity, the bass at Ivie had either magically reappeared - or had forgotten they weren't supposed to be biting.

Trull and I were fishing Carolina style, with 6-inch and 8-inch Gator plastic lizards and we found a wad of bass holed-up in a grass bed in eight to 15 feet of water. The wind was gusting around 15 mph and our game plan was to motor upwind of the grass bed, throw out a 30-inch drift sock to slow our drift over the target area, and drag our lures slowly through the grass behind 3/4-ounce brass weights.

If you've never used a drift sock when Carolina-rig fishing you're missing a good bet. The sock acts as a sea anchor, dragging about 10 to 12 feet behind the boat, and allows you to drift slowly across a fishing area, regardless of the wind speed.

The wind sock, which is collapsible and stores in a small area when not in use, has an adjustable outlet hole to vary the speed of drift, is inexpensive and may be one of the best fishing tools available to anglers here in windy, northwest Texas. The sock not only allows you to keep your boat properly aligned over a fishing area, but also saves a lot of wear and tear on trolling motor, batteries and the trolling-motor operator.

Friday morning Les Hiesler from San Angelo joined our group, and after some early morning thunderstorms cleared the lake area, we found the bass were still willing to hit the Gator lizards, and again found productive depths from seven to 15 feet.

Les and I probably missed some good, early morning action in shallower depths, according to both Peeples and Strickland. But we were having so much fun catching fish on Carolina-rigs over the grass beds and underwater humps and ridges, it really didn't matter.

Lake Ivie has become ultra-clear during the past few weeks and we found 17-pound test line to be most acceptable to the fish. We took several fish on line weights in 20- and 25-pound test, but the 17-pound line was the best producer, especially after the clouds cleared at midday.

Back at Concho Park late that afternoon, David Finley was still on a tear about the recent "lousy fishing" article by the San Angelo-based writer, and the damage he feels it will do to his, and the other fishing-related businesses around the lake.

"I called him (the outdoor writer) and asked where in the world he got the idea that we (Concho Park) were in any kind of trouble - and how could the fishing be bad when so many eight- to 10-pound bass were being caught," Finley said Friday.

"His response was that he may have 'overstated' the marina problems and that I (David) should take him fishing and prove that the fishing is good," Finley heatedly reported.

"I told him it would be a very cold day in (a hot place) before he got in my boat," Finley said with a wicked grin.

What seemed to upset Finley the most was that the writer had used the Concho Park name in the article, but had failed to call or come by the marina to see if his information was correct.

When Hiesler and I left the lake that evening the climate at Concho Park had changed very little. As we polished off our chicken fried steaks at the Concho Park restaurant, David Finley was still stomping around, muttering about writers who did their reporting from the men's room and threatening to call every magazine and newspaper editor in the state.

Les and I decided that we would make it a point to get back to Ivie soon, to do some more Carolina-rigging with the wind sock, and to spend more time fishing in shallow water. But when we came back we would definitely and absolutely disavow any knowledge, information or previous association with outdoor writers from San Angelo.

Dove Hunting Program

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is seeking suitable dove-hunting fields to enroll in their Public Dove Hunting Program.

The TPWD is offering short-term leases to landowners willing to enroll their property in the program and state that the leases will not be open to the general public - but to holders of Annual Public Hunting Permits, which will be sold by the TPWD.

The property enrolled in the program will, ideally, feature food plants such as sunflower, croton, pigweed, ragweed, sudan, milo or other small grains, and be adjacent to cover and a water source.

If you have fields or property that normally attracts doves, and are willing to enter into a lease agreement with the TPWD, contact TPWD wildlife biologist Bill Del Monte in Nolan at (915) 798-3152.

Turkey Calling

The Texas Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation will host its State Turkey Calling Championship during the annual Opening Day celebration in Fredricksburg Aug. 30-Sept. 1.

Appearing on the list of celebrities at the event will be All-Pro tight end Jay Novacek of the Dallas Cowboys and noted game calling expert Gary Roberson.

For more information on the turkey calling competition and Opening Day festivities, telephone (210) 997-9057.

Travis Texas Open

The dates for the Travis Texas Open team-style fishing tournament on Lake Amistad will be Aug. 2-3 with registration and weigh-in at the Del Rio Convention Center.

Entry fee will be $120 per team until July 19 and $150 per team thereafter. Ten dollars from each entry fee will be added to the big bass pot which will be paid daily.

Grand prize will be a fully-rigged, $30,000 201D Viper bass boat. There will be a drawing for tournament contestants for a fully-rigged Cajun 185 bass boat and the finishers in 6th place, 66th place, 166th place and 266th place will respectively win a SeaArk Z180 McBass boat with a 90 hp Johnson engine, trailer, Lowrance electronics and MotorGuide trolling motor; a Sprint 267 bass boat with a 60-horse Johnson motor, trailer, Lowrance electronics and MotorGuide Trolling motor; a Viper 190 bass boat, trailer, and Lowrance electronics and a Viper 180 bass boat, trailer and Lowrance electronics.

Where can you get so much for losing?

In addition, over $25,000 in door prizes will be given to contestants while final prizes are being tabulated and an exact 2-day total stringer weight of 16.66 pounds will win a 286 Sprint bass boat equipped with a 150 hp Johnson outboard.

Based on 400 teams in the tournament, second place will win $3,000 and 17th place will win $500.

For more information go by the nearest Travis Boating Center or contact Ron Hilliard at (915) 367-1638.

Lake Ivie fishing guide Rick Peeples caught two bass over 10 pounds this past week, including this 10.66-pounder that was taken in 3 feet depths on a 10-inch Power Worm. Peeples said that while some Ivie bass have moved into deeper water, there is still good action in three to six feet depths.

Black bass open

COLORADO CITY - The Colorado City Chamber of Commerce will sponsor a black bass open tournament at Lake Champion and Lake Colorado City on June 14.

First prize will be $2,000 cash. The $35 entry fee includes a barbecue meal from 6-9 p.m. on June 13. For an entry blank or more information call Ronnie Conner at (915) 728-8436 after 5:30 p.m.