The Phenomenon of the color PINK in Brackish Waters for Sunfish......

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

As an active member of Bigbluegill.com the last several years, I have learned a lot and shared many ideas that have proven successful for Sunfish in the waters I fish. Prior to becoming a member I had several secrets that remained in my pocket and only my closest fishing buddies had ever even shared in this success. This isn't to say others weren't fishing the same baits in a similar style and catching fish or using baits of their choice and finding similar success.  I was a young kid with numerous anglers in my extended family and I learned early from my grandpa Foster Abney, who always told me to listen when I got around fishermen and think about things that might help me or work where I was fishing.  I was fortunate to be pretty close with an Uncle on my mother's side of the family that lived one town over in Southeastern Louisiana. He grew up and lived near the banks of the Tcefuncte River in the small town of Madisonville, Louisiana and only fished two bodies of water during his eighty plus year life.  A fact that many folks close to him never knew is he fished live grass shrimp for some 60 to 70 years and I couldn't begin to tell you how many Bluegill, Shellcracker, Warmouth and Crappie that he caught over the years.   One Thanksgiving day in the early 1970s as our 100 member family assembled in Folsom, Louisiana for the best dinners we ever ate, Uncle Kenny walked out to an acre pond that was dug on the family farm to stock with fish for the 20 plus grandkids in the Sharp family.  I was there casting a beetle spin when he asked if I had a scoop net with me. I did and we went over to some grass beds near the shore and made a quick scoop and filled a bucket up with little crustaceans called Grass Shrimp. He said put a cork and a bream hook on there and let me show you something. I eagerly followed his instructions and a few moments later we were pulling out big bluegill one after another.  This went on for quite some time and my Uncle explained if you ever run out of Grass Shrimp "Jeffie" and can't find more, take a pink soft plastic jig and fish that in the same areas. He explained that I wouldn't be disappointed and don't be afraid to tip the hook with a worm, grasshopper or a cricket if you have some.  I went home armed with the advice and went through seven or eight tackle boxes my dad and I had but no pink in any of them. I couldn't believe it but surely I'll find some the next time at the bait shop.  A few short days later my dad and I visited the local bait shop and I rushed the fishing tackle, both shelves and found two packs of little curly tails that had a mix of white and pink, they were mine and I was excited to let Uncle Kenny know I had found some and was eager to try them as soon as I could. His only clue was Pink was the best match for live grass shrimp in our brackish waters. He explained saltwater anglers have realized it for some time but freshwater fishermen have failed to make the correlation and they are truly missing out. In the weeks ahead I will go into detail how I fish these jigs and hopefull answer many of the questions I have received about the mystery of pink.

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

So back on the North Carolina rivers I go as I wait for some of Tooty's bugs mixed with pink....He also plans to send a few more of his favorites......But I still have Gronaw Grass Shrimp I want to fish with again to see if there has been any fall off as well as many other shrimp rigs and live bait options....Just s few more days remain in August to leave my mark....

So I have a couple more great and exciting trips and here comes the mail lady with some new bugs from the Troy Grove Bug Monster....No Solid PINK yet but several pink/white and chartreuse/pink combinations and a few other favorites from Tooty...Time to get back on the water!

Things are going great and the new baits from Tooty are catching great gills, Jim Gronaw's pink grass shrimp jigs pick up right where they left off and I have back to back 100 fish days in late August but there is still a few more days......

Two more amazing days and finally the last day of August is here...no worries there is still September and I have a week off for Labor day but still time to make one fishing trip before the sun sets on August......

So the sun sets on another day and another month but as I ride back to the launch on my favorite river...I reflect on recent months and the last couple days and realize these hand tied baits have caught hundreds of gills and the results have been more than we could have imagined.....Over the last few trips I have come to realize these new bugs allow me to enter the strike zone with stealth thus the name "Silent Stinger" is born and has stuck ever since.....You must name these baits after they catch hundreds of big bluegill.....it has to be done.......Thank you Jim Gronaw and Tooty for the chance to swim your baits in my region and both of you should be proud of the results....I'm flattered down in Carolina!

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

The calendar says September and with a few days vacation added to a long Labor Day weekend it should be a great time to catch some gills.....Got several new baits I want to try including the Carolina Killer from Jim Gronaw and Tooty has sent me some Silent Stingers with pink in them. Water temperatures should be falling after staying near 90 degrees all of August. Let's see how it went.....

Things start out great and here are the new baits I want to try.....

This is the Carolina Killer in which Jim Gronaw caught his big gills featured just last week from Richmond Mill....Tony Livingston has also showed some great Hybrids recently caught with the same Jigs......

This is a great piece of work that is now affectionately called the "Cotton Candy" silent stinger.....It's story begins in the dark waters of Northeast North Carolina earlier this year......Long story short....these guys are being mass produced now!

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

I stock back up on live bait.....both Crickets and Grass Shrimp and away we go......Is the Cotton Candy a flash in the pan or will it always have a spot in my tackle box...Let's answer the question with testimony and some more solid pictures.......

With a little overcast and a few sprinkles on the third of September.....I have 76 sunfish by 9:00 a.m., all on brand new baits tied by other Bigbluegill members....How cool is that! Here's more of the great fish caught on that trip.....Hopefully Tooty will remember how to tie the Cotton Candy bug!

Are you kidding me....world class Fliers and pound class Gills make for an amazing morning and it's time to go cricket shopping and go scoop some grass shrimp......Will tomorrow be this good?

Sure it could....this time on Beaver Creek and to my amazement....water temps are all the way down to near 80 degrees here and the fish are going crazy including a wealth of big Fliers......My friend from work realizes I'm off a few more days and calls me and begs me to come fish the Northwest River with him claiming an excellent Crappie and Gill bite is going on right now......What a decision...I'm catching plenty of fish in my back yard, why would I drive an hour! I tell him I'll sleep on it and he continues to send text messages throughout the evening trying to convince me to come up.....What would you do in this situation? I'll let you know what I did very soon!

[DAVID L EITUTIS]

I ASSURE YOU JEFFREY I WON'T FORGET HOW TO TIE COTTON CANDY'S....... JUST great pics buddy and you did both me and Jim G. proud buddy. Can't wait to read the rest! They are actually the easiest bug I make next to floating spiders. Got enough stuff here to do thousands of em and as long as I'm able I'll make em .......... That pic of you and the coppernose by the seawall is a spot made for Tooty and the fly rod !

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

I'm good right now....got a whole bag full with two armed guards and double security locks.....I'm looking forward to splashing these baits in the Spring!

[DAVID L EITUTIS]

OH YAH I KNOW HOW MANY YOU GOT!!!! ON TO THE NEXT ONES IN DECEMBER MAYBE and will start with pink & chartruese stingers next. That's a ways off though and got some rod work to do first before it turns cold here. I don't  mean cold like you have way down in the 40's , I"m talking minus 40's here buddy..........

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

I give in to my friends demands and pack up my fishing gear and head up to the border of Virginia/North Carolina and see what all the talk is about....Here's how it went....

Underway heading south towards Carolina listening to the Black Water Anthem and looking forward to a great day on a wonderful river shared by Virginia and North Carolina.....

So turns out my buddy was right and we have a wonderful day securing a limit of Crappie and some really nice gills also.....Like to catch those Crappie and release the big gills whenever I get a chance....We were catching them shallow on this trip on jigs and live bait.....yeah I had a pink panther jig on it was working great.....

Bigbluegill.com member Mark Stine has some great looking bugs at the local tackle shop and I nab one and catch several nice Gills and Crappie on it during this trip......But it's time to get my rear end back down to the waiting gills in Carolina with some more great weather and what do you know the mail man has brought me a delivery from Troy Grove again and this time some solid Pink Silent Stingers! Got to go.....

It's on now...business is getting ready to pick up folks!

So no surprise to me the pink Stinger is hot right out of the box and I have thrill after thrill on my telescopic pole.....It's a 50 gill morning and on this day they were all released because it was time to get home and filet yesterday's Crappie.....But like Arnold Said..."I'll be back!"......

[DAVID L EITUTIS]

CAN'T WAIT TILL YA COME BACK TOMORROW with another story of the catches of the day Jeffrey!!!!!  

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

And as you might guess my short vacation was over so it was back to the grind to pay a few bills...but the days are still rather long this time of year so the afternoons can be some of the best fishing of the year.....So after all the daydreaming and pacing around a few more work days pass and the batteries are charged with the bait box full.....got some lively crickets and clicking Grass Shrimp so let's see what the Pasquotank River has to offer the Man in Pink!.....

Something interesting and very rewarding happens on this day.....I've seen it on a couple other occasions but it had been awhile and it turned out to be so cool to watch.....I'm creek fishing again and I enter a leg surrounded by cypress trees with rather breezy conditions and I notice a sheen on the water....I get closer and realize there are millions of little insects like midges in these trees but falling to the water's surface and sending all fish into a frenzy below.....Can you say Ka-ching!

Unbelievable fishing during this insect migration....fish rolling the surface everywhere you looked.....shortened my float to six inches and got pounded for the next hour and a half before the setting sun was a reminder that this memorable trip was nearing an end.....But what a wonderful fishing trip on a day that I worked! Just goes to show you effort can and will be rewarded....A little fishing luck like an insect migration is pretty cool too!

[Allen Morgan]

That looks like a Mayfly hatch in progress.  DEFINITELY good fishing!  A few years ago, I had the good luck to walk in to a Mayfly hatch on my local lake.  'Gills were crushing bugs at the surface, as well as anything that looked like a bug.  I'm hoping to find that hatch again on my local lake next year, armed with my fly rod.

[Tony Livingston]

 It's official: this thread has caused my computer to lock up twice in a row now...... it appears that my rural internet connection (Verizon Wireless, 3G ) just can't cope with the numerous photos..... I gave up trying to load it this last time when it froze with 186 items left to load...... probably a good thing though.....if it did work it would surely exceed my 5 GB data allowance!

How many photos are in this thread?

[DAVID L EITUTIS]

HEY TONY, EVEN AT THE END OF THE LINE "TROY GROVE" WE CAN SEE ALL THE PICS. You might be in the dreaded SOUTHERN INDIANA BLACK OUT ZONE!!!!!