Baldwin Will Leave Turkey Hunting Long Enough To Fish Bfl On High Rock Lake
This is the time of year Chris Baldwin is torn between two loves – bass fishing and turkey hunting.
“I go turkey hunting in the morning and then practice for a tournament in the afternoon,” said the Lexington, N.C., angler who is currently ranked 3rd in the standings for the WalMart BFL’s Piedmont Division. “Then I don’t find enough fish and run out before the tournament is over,” he added with a laugh.
Not always.
He bagged a nice bird on a combo turkey hunting-practice day before the Lake Gaston tournament in April and then weighed in five bass at 16 pounds, 9 ounces to finish 6th in the tournament.
He spent Wednesday morning in the turkey woods, but did not get a shot.
“We had one out in the field and he was hung up on us. I think a hen got to him, but he should have been a dead bird. We just knew we had him, but then he faded away.,” Baldwin said. “But I can’t complain. I’ve had a pretty good turkey season which was surprising as quick as it warmed up this spring.”
That early spring also affected the fish, he noted.
“Fishing started kind of slow this year. I usually don’t start catching them good until they get on the beds and then when they pull off the beds, but March was brutal on me this year.”
Baldwin said there will be a lot of different scenarios for the anglers in the BFL on High Rock this Saturday.
“It has warmed up so quick a lot of the fish have already spawned. Normally, the shallow bite goes to the second week of June on High Rock, but the lake is down by three free. There is usually a good brush bite going on this time of year, but with the water down that brush bite likely is gone.”
There could be a good shad bite, he noted.
“I am sure the shad are spawning after the full moon and it has been real warm the last couple of weeks,” he said. “It’s a little early for a crankbait, so a small Carolina rig might be good, along with a jig on the points. I still don’t think there will be a 15-foot bite going on. I think it will be from 10 feet up to the bank.”
Baldwin missed practice Wednesday after turkey hunting because of heavy rains, but he will hit the lake Thursday and Friday and try to nail down some areas to fish.
“I’ll fish from the bank out, just stand on the trolling motor and see what happens. It won’t take very long to figure out if they are on the banks or out deep, but I think they are gong to be everywhere – scattered.”
Then, that just plays into his style of fishing.
“I love junk fishing with at least 12 rods on the deck. I am not a pattern fisherman. Other guys will have two rods on the deck with the same thing on both in case they break one off,” he said. “But I will have everything tied on, from a floating bait to a DD22.”
Walmart Bass Fishing League (BFL) – Piedmont Division
Sat, May 12, 2012
High Rock Lake
Tamarac Marina
