A Prosperous 2014 Panfish Season To Date

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

 Not sure what all the contributing factors are but 2014 has been an amazing panfish season to date in Coastal North Carolina......Despite getting hit by a wave of tornadoes in late April and a brush by a CAT 2 hurricane on the 4th of July......this year has been productive since New Year's Day........I've already experienced quantity records for Black Crappie and the Summer bite continues to be incredible........I topped 3,000 Crappie earlier in July and sit at 3,151 as of 8/1/2014 with 617 of those fish at 13" or larger......Even July has been productive for Crappie with 417 crossing the decks........I'm also on a record pace for Bluegills but the remainder of 2014 will be very busy at work so the jury is still out........As of 8/1/2014, 3,619 gills have been caught this year on the Albemarle with 1,470 10" class fish or better......It has been a blast getting several new folks out with me to wet a line and of course our traditional Abney Family Vacation was special again this year......Here's a few pictures I put together to look back on this great season........Let's hope the rest of the year is just as good......

 All the rivers on the Albemarle have healthy populations of Black Crappie.....Anything of 13" or better is a River Slab in my opinion.....most fish are in the 10 to 12 inch class with fish up to 16" routinely caught in these waters,

99 percent of the speckled perch in these rivers are Black.......very few White Crappie in the rivers of the Albemarle......

A Solid Crappie Daily Double from Early May on the Albemarle......

Even in the heart of the Summer we find quality fish in the shallows on flooded cuypress....

May delivered as usual....

I love it when the Big Gills and Crappies are packed in together....usually occurs in early May...

Quality Coppernose dominate our brackish water rivers.....

A Classic Coppernose Daily Double....

Memorial Day weekend produced this nice pair.....

Caught in the same area a big bull shark was caught last summer....

Remember this region is only 10 miles from the Atlantic Ocean....

My nephew Dan caught his personal best gill back in June at 1 pound 12 ounces......a great fish that will probably go to Tim Overbaugh....

My Avatar picture comes from the most productive water I fish for large bluegills.......

I owe my success in this body of water to all the information I got from a man almost 90 years old....

This monarch gill comes from a location that I save every year for just 4 to 6 trips to minimize pressure and optimize the trophy gills that reside there......an amazing place to fish and I'm usually sleepless the night before......Going back there at least one more time this summer....

And finally earlier this week after work on Tuesday......I crossed paths with my best gill of 2014 and what a tribute to the waters I fish year round.....A great season and I still have five months......incredible fishing this year for sure........

[Steve Wilson]

             W  O  W !!!!!

    Super year........ Congrats  Jeffery

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

Thanks Steve........

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

Thanks Steve.....it's been better than I could have imagined giving how good 2013 was!

[DAVID L EITUTIS]

CONGRATS SIR JEFFREY , A SEASON ANY OF US WOULD BE PROUD OF !!!!!!!

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

It has been a lot of fun Tooty.......

[Jim Gronaw]

Wow is right! Those numbers of high-end bluegills and crappie are simply insane. I got just a taste of this blackwater experience last October and have thus appropriately labeled the area as...

THE BLUEGILL CAPITOL OF THE WORLD

No joke, it's true, and I hope to get back with Jeff one day in a warmwater scenario.

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

We will get that done for sure Jim.......let's make it a 2015 goal!

[carl hendrix]

one thing about your catches Jeffery;;; you EARNED them!  many ; many congrats to you Jeffery!!

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

Appreciate it Carl......

[dick tabbert]

Congrats Jeffrey on a banner year of fish catching. It's well deserved from a dedicated fisherman who put in the hours and loves the sport so dearly. With the many hours on the water come wisdom and I consider you a wise fisherman with all your note taking and tracking your day's fishing keeping track of any important details.  I also know you are a prepared fisherman taking a lot of the guess work out of what you do adding to the bottom line catching fish. Your a conservative person only taking what you need and throwing the rest back a trait we should all follow. Thank you for sharing not just the pictures but some of the knowledge you have learned along the way, I know if I or anybody had any questions and you could answer it you would so, such a great trait. Here's hoping you finish the year out with a bang and it continues on to the next and with your obtained knowledge I'm sure it will. Thanks Jeffrey for the many picture and details I cherish them all.

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

Thanks Dick......my passion for the outdoors started back in the bayous and swamp bottoms of Louisiana....My family were big bird hunters and I still have today the hand written logs for every hunting trip starting back in 1973. I used that model for several Science projects in school and took many blue ribbons for detail, originality, etc.....But through the years just like my fishing logs, I would look back and study for patterns......Still to this day, at the end of every month I look at the three previous years for the upcoming month and scan for clues and you may be surprised at how often that seems to pay off......Full moon, water temperature and wind tide are just a few things I track but I have enough information to make an informed decision on where to go at any particular point in the season.....What has made this even more fun the last couple years is fishing with the creations from so many of the Bigbluegill.com members.....I love to catch bluegill but get even more satisfaction from knowing the creator of the bait I have selected.....just been cool......Technology advancements have made the picture thing so much fun......I take hundreds and really like the pictures to provide the testimony for my fishing....This site has allowed me to share instantly with thousands of folks that share the passion I have and it's just the best network of bluegill anglers anywhere.....covering the entire country and all bodies of water....it's been fun for many, many years but sharing here the last four has been pretty special......appreciate your perspective Dick!

[Ben Seay]

Gongrats Jeff on a banner year!