Most of the guys who fish regularily at Irvine know that when it comes to fishing knowledge, few compare to local guide Donnie Spencer. Catfish shudder and trout shake when they hear his name....and the bass get sore lips just hearing the sound of his trolling motor! Aside from all that you couldn't meet a nicer guy.
I had the pleasure of jumping on board Don's Ranger this past Sunday for some insane bass fishing at the Vine. I rarely fish the green fish these days, but I like to think I'm a quick learner on the water (okay I know how to copy what someone is doing when their catching fish! ) So after a quick debriefing we launched the boat just after 6am....nice to be doing so at the main ramp now!
It wasn't too long after launching Don got on the board....no surprise there!
This would become a recurring theme throughout the day as I tried to hold my own as the newbie...
I knew my time would come with some perserverance, my first fish of the day came less than an hour into the day on a dead sticked senko
Once "we" figured out the pattern, bites came at a fast a furious pace and fish started coming over the rail left and right!
Another chunky Irvine bass....
AND another....
getting ready for the up and over manuever
Oh yeaaaah
Sharing a little intel and spreading the love to some fellow bassers....unlike many "pros", Don is willing to share his info and even his hot baits (he passed out quite a few different plastics we were catching them on to guys who weren't doing quite as well, very cool )
Oh and just to show the ramp actually is open for business....
Our half day trip ended up being almost a full day adventure, total fish count was pushing close to 40 but I honestly lost track after 30 fish Obviously with those kinds of numbers it was a successful day of catching, but the value of this experience went beyond the catching part. I learned a ton of valuable information and was treated to an on the water education that I can put to use for many trips to come.
If you are hardcore into bassing and want to step up your game, or just a beginner trying to get on some fish I would highly reccomend Donnie Spencer's guide service. Here is the link although you can find it here on FNN as well: http://donfishon.com/index.php
Donnie thank you again for an awesome day on the water....I had a blast out there!
TD