[gentle orchestral fanfare] - Oh, good night man, he hit it again right there.

No I still go it.

I thought he pulled them off again.

He's right on the edge of these submerged pads right here, Justis.

- [Justis] They're here.

- [Fisherman] They're here.

One just blew up, just caught one.

- [Justis] Smooth move.

- [Fisherman] And there's another one.

That's not as big as the one I had a while ago.

But you know what I'll do?

I'll take him.

He count's, don't he?

[Fisherman laughs] Yeah that's a quality little fish, man.

It's not, you know, three or four pounders, but, if they've moved out, then I'll take these guys all day long.

Look, you now, started out with a buzz bait this morning.

And I started with a spinner bait.

Miss one?

- Nope, not missed one.

- Just to see, and we kinda didn't really, wondering whether or not we'd catch one with buzz bait.

- [Justis] Right.

- But it bright, sunny, and behind the front.

And they definitely eating spinner bait this morning, so I'mma stick with that.

And if you see the need to change, then we'll rig you right up.

What's the deal here?

What are we fishing?

Why are we here?

- [Justis] Well-- - [Announcer] The production of Carolina Outdoor Journal is made possible in part by: - [Female Announcer] Wildlife in North Carolina Magazine.

ncwildlife.org/winc.

- [Male Announcer] And by EZ Bait and Tackle, family owned and operated.

We've been fishing since 2003.

Come see the crew in Goldsboro, North Carolina, and we can hook you up for all your fishing needs.

[light instrumental music] ♪ - Hello, welcome to the Carolina Outdoor Journal.

Well today's program is designed for bass fisherman, I think.

Joe, you've got a couple of favorite lures for bass fisherman now.

- That's right.

You know the name of the show today is blade bass.

And we're using two different type of blades in the show today.

We started off in the morning with top water buzz bait.

The fish were not real happy about that early.

It was kind of an unusual day.

We had picked it certainly in advance, and we got out on the water, but we worked through it.

We ended up using spinner baits, another type of blade bait, and ended up catching some fish, and ended up having a good morning.

So yeah, two real popular lures known to the bass fisherman, and also to the bass.

- [John] We'll talk more about that during your time, but we'll catch up with Donna.

She's in the kitchen today, got a recipe using scallops.

- [Joe] Yeah if you love scallops, this is a real special recipe from her today.

- Alright we got a lot going on today, you bass fishermen.

You're gonna really like this show, so let's get started right here on the Carolina Outdoor Journal.

Alright now, we're back out here about the same spot where we were last year in July, and it was hot and we were fishing with plastic worms.

And we talked about it then about coming back in the spring and I wanted to do a spinner bait show or a buzz bait show.

And you know, I'mma start with the spinner bait because it's so bright.

We're behind a cold front.

I think a lot of fish have spawned, the first go around or whatever.

But you're gonna start with a buzz bait.

- [Justis] Buzz bait.

- [Bryan] Buzz jewel?

- [Justis] Yup, Billy Phillips.

Buzz jewel and just see where we're at.

Well I don't know exactly.

Bright, blue bird day, it's really not a spinner bait day or a buzz bait day.

But we're gonna give it our best shot.

That spinner bait is probably gonna be the answer.

But you know what they say, a fool don't change.

- Oh there's no question about that.

If you catch one or two on that before I do, watch how quick I can retie.

- And back at you.

Yup.

- Cool.

Well last time, last time we were out here, there might be a little payback on your end this time, cause-- - I think you wore me out.

- You didn't fare so well.

- I think you wore me out.

- That was just a humbling experience for you cause you won about three tournaments in a row, so.

I look forward to this man.

- Let's do it.

- Let's rock and roll.

- Let's do it.

- Got him moving there, J.B. - Awesome.

- I don't know what I got, but he hit it pretty good deep in those pads that aren't quite coming up yet.

- [Justis] Awesome.

- [Bryan] That little spinner bait, jump for me one time baby.

- [Justis] It's what he wanted.

- [Bryan] Yes, sir.

Yes, sir.

You say the bucks are still in here?

- [Justis] Yup.

- After, so the fish have already spawned one time?

- One batch has, yup.

- And so the bucks are still up in here in shallow water?

- That's right.

There's some pads under here.

- Uh huh.

- Tell you what now.

- He wanted it, didn't he?

- He intended on digesting that thing.

- You just missed one.

- He ate it and I missed him.

This is a different fish.

- Yeah the next cast you caught another one.

- Yup.

That's a pretty little fish right there.

It's a pretty morning to be fishing, too.

- It is.

- I didn't know.

You know we're fishing, you're throwing a buzz bait and I'm throwing a spinner bait.

I'm trying to see on these blades here whether or not we can catch them up top.

I would rather do that.

But if they're not going to eat it.

Then I will certainly throw a spinner bait.

That's just a quality fish though, isn't it?

- [Justis] Yup, it's nice.

- Nice fish.

Thank you sir.

Come back and see us.

- You know what they say?

A fool don't change.

[Bryan chuckles] - I've heard a story about that before.

- This fool's getting ready to change.

- Make sure my bait's in good shape.

He bit in that arm too.

- We're gonna catch some more in here.

I'm gonna try to stay out.

- OK. - The wind's blowing in here, it's pushing.

Got a little wind current.

And I think that definitely helps.

- Yeah it does.

Yeah I was looking at a couple different spinner baits this morning.

That's the one I choose.

I just like that fish scale skirt and that single gold blade.

So did he.

- You made a right choice.

- We'll see.

- Bryan keep us out of here, I'm gonna tie on a spinner bait.

- OK. Oh, good night man, be hit it again right there.

Oh no I still got it.

I thought I pulled him off again.

He's right on the edge of these submerged pads right here, Justis.

- [Justis] They're here.

- [Bryan] They're here.

One just blew up.

Just caught one.

- [Justis] Smooth move.

- There's another one.

That's not as big as the one I had a while ago.

But you know what I'll do?

I'll take him.

He count's don't he?

Yeah that's a quality little fish man.

It's not you know a three or four pounder, but if they've moved out then I'll take these guys all day long.

Look, you know, started out with a buzz bait this morning.

And I started with a spinner bait.

Missed one?

- Nope, not missed one.

- Just to see we kinda didn't really wonder whether or not we'd catch one with buzz bait.

- Right.

- With it bright, sunny behind the front.

And but they're definitely eating spinner bait this morning so I'mma stick with that.

And if you see the need to change, then we'll rig you right up.

What's the deal here?

What are we fishing?

Why are we here.

- [Justis] Well, this time of the year the water temperature today is 61 this morning.

- Uh huh.

- It's the third week of April.

We've already had a full moon, so the first batch of bass have already spawned.

- Oh OK. - We've a kind of a cool spring, so in fact during the full moon I think it got down into the 30s that one two nights.

And the females that were there hit the road.

- Oh I got you.

- There's some, there's some bucks around.

We had a tournament this past weekend and it took 13 pounds to win it.

- Was that mostly bucks?

- And it was, yeah, and it shouldn't have been the case.

It should have taken more than that I would have thought.

- Uh huh.

- But everybody had a limit.

Eight to 10 pound limit.

And they were all small buck bass.

- Right.

- You could see the fans on their tail were red and bloody.

So they've definitely, the first batch is done.

We'll have another full moon in May and then that'll finish the rest of of spawning process off.

These bass, we've seen some fry around this morning.

- I have, I noticed some fry.

That one that blew up, it looked like he was in fry.

- And the bass are doing two things.

They're either eating them, or guarding them.

- Right.

- And right now it looks like they're eating them.

[Justis and Bryan chuckle] - I know what they are eating.

- They're eating your spinner bait.

- They're eating spinner bait right here.

[Justis laughs] Yes sir.

Well cool, you got some more pads like this and stuff located we can go to?

- Yeah man, we'll go try 'em out.

- Oh man, right on these little pats of pads right here.

What's you got?

Little buck dude.

- Little chubberrouski.

- Sweet.

This pattern is very, very consistent.

- Yup.

- That same lure that be catchin' this morning?

He's got a little something in his mouth right there.

- Give him a kiss.

- No sir.

- I will.

- Tell you what.

I'm gonna kiss one in the mouth while you're messing with him.

- Oh there's another one in there, be ready.

Can't take a chance of you getting ahead of me.

I know how you are.

[Justis laughs] - [Justis] Oh man.

- You have me boxed out trying to hold a lead.

- [Justis] I'll pull the Bobby Williams on you.

- Oh no.

[relaxing acoustic guitar] - [Justis] Bryan, the few bites we've had this morning have been around lily pads.

- [Bryan] Uh huh.

What's the deal with that?

- [Justis] I think the deal is, it's a hard bottom.

- [Bryan] Mmm hmm.

[Justis] And bass will spawn on hard bottom.

Sandy bottom is usually hard bottom.

- [Bryan] Right.

- [Justis] And there's some bait in there.

It's covered.

They're producing oxygen.

- I got, see, these pads will get a whole lot thicker later on.

- Yeah, it won't be long.

We won't be able to be casting like we are, you know.

- Uh huh.

- And I just had a bite.

And I'm hoping I'm gonna show you one.

- About, I know what you about show me.

[Justis laughs] - I'll jack your head up.

- There's a reason I'm wearing a long brimmed hat.

[Justis laughs] I figure since you're about seven foot three you can set the hook every time.

[Justis laughs] - I've got him.

- [Justis] You've got him.

- Slow rolling that thing, Justis.

Right down, I mean across, coming up.

oh!

Come on.

[Justis laughs] Dang gone it.

That's two bites right here on this flat.

I didn't think we had a, you know, I-- - Thank you.

You just take it easy.

[Justis and Bryan chuckle] - Bet you feel better.

- Hey, you know what we just said?

A fool don't change.

You could put a trailer hook on.

- You're right.

Well-- - And we'd have him in the boat.

- I know.

I can't believe he shook me off.

He shook me off is that happened that time.

But look that's two bites and I've been doing the same thing.

Barely, there he is.

- Hot damn.

- I bet I'mma lose that rascal, I missed him.

- Did you really?

- I bet I'm gonna lose that rascal.

[Justis laughs] That's three bites.

- There's something to that man.

[Bryan grunts] - I'm telling you man.

This blue bird, the last one, I mean the first one I hooked on this flat, grabbed my skirt and pulled it off.

And that one obviously didn't have him hooked very good.

I brought the wrong rod with me to be doing this anyway.

I keep putting enough back burn in it-- - Yeah it did.

- The side of his head.

But-- - What rod are you casting?

What action is that?

- This is a medium action, but it's seven foot.

And it's a little bit softer.

- Got a lot of tip in it.

- Yeah.

- Which is good, but we're tied up here, it's tough.

This one is a medium heavy, is what I'm throwing.

- Well if you weren't standing there I could of-- - Just jack my-- - I could've got it.

- You aint' gonna hurt me.

- Knock your hat off like you about did me while you-- - He's gonna fish with Bobby.

He thinks he's fishing for Blue Marlin with his casting, cranking and hook.

- That's funny.

I like this spot.

I'm glad you said let's fish this before we get out of this basin because there's obviously some fish right on that edge.

- [Justis] He's a good one.

- He was right up on that tree too.

He's not as big as I thought he was.

He was right on the base of that tree.

Come here buddy.

That was easy enough.

Don't have to touch him.

He still counts though, right?

- No you didn't put your hands on him.

- Oh come on you didn't tell me that rule.

[Justis chuckles] You didn't tell me that rule.

He was perfect.

I mean I hit the tree, bounced up, you know, just right at the bast of the tree.

- You think we're marlin fishing?

I didn't see a leader.

I didn't see the leader.

- Oh man.

That's why, I see how you do me.

[Justis chuckles] It'll come back to haunt you.

- Look I got one, a stick.

- Yeah a good little fish.

And not, you know, the way he took off with it-- - I thought it was gonna be a bull.

I really did.

I said well my man's got a four pounder.

- I would have reacted differently.

Might just be hitting the optimum day to be doing this.

I just love fishing spinner baits when it's still spring time.

And we've caught some fish.

ú But what, what do you like over here up these creeks and you know where we're at, as far as throwing spinner baits?

- The best spot is the windy side.

- Uh huh.

- It pushes bait, cover, whatever, over on the bank that the wind's blowing on.

It just creates ruckus, action, activity.

- Right.

- And I like it a touch cloudy.

Today is, oh!

I thought I was gonna show you one.

Cause a touch cloudy, I like a little bit of breeze.

Especially, and any cloud, that helps too.

- Now what about water temperature?

Is spring time the only time you can catch them on spinner bait?

- When in doubt when I'm not catching anything I'll throw on spinner bait.

- Really?

- I just got a lot of confidence in it.

- When you're practicing for tournaments and stuff like that?

- Yup, it covers water.

It doesn't get hung.

- That's what, we've fished through a lot of junk.

I mean there's no other way to explain it, but junk.

- And a lot of people throw a spinner bait, you know that don't get, you got a touch cover.

I gotta, I gotta feel something.

- Especially with it as bright as it is right now.

- Yeah.

- That why the fish, that pad fishing has been so good.

- I got a fishing line.

- Moss and stuff right here.

- But yeah, I got a touch cover, bump a stump, hit rocks, gotta do something to change my blades up.

Sometimes I'll yo-yo my spinner bait.

- Uh huh.

- I'll burn it.

- I love that bite man.

And when you can wake that thing right underneath the surface.

- Yup.

- Just like that, throw it that way, it can come across the stump or something.

And it disappears.

- Yup.

- That's a really, really neat bite.

So I was hoping we'd get some of it today, but it's just way to bright for that I think.

- Get some.

And we still may.

If we get, we get around on the shady side of like this clump of stuff, if you would bring your spinner bait through that.

- Uh huh.

- A lot of time his eyes are right under that.

- [Bryan] I saw him, I saw him eat it.

- [Justis] It's gonna be a good one.

- [Bryan] That's a better fish.

- Yeah.

- [Bryan] Some of that stuff I've been catching.

- [Justis] He's not too massive, but-- - [Bryan] Oh no, no, shoot, I got him beat.

[Justis laughs] - Let me see.

I think I just put hands on him.

Bryan, I know you've been hooking and releasing, kind of down there in the water.

- Yeah.

- But that's what chub look like.

- That's what they look like, I hear you.

- He's pretty, pretty little bass.

- He wants to get along with that.

He's healthy lookin', ain't he?

- Yup, yup, and we were just talking about cover.

He was right on the corner of that pier right there.

And uh- - Did you see the stuff, that is like old pilings or something over there.

- He had a bad day.

He thought he was getting breakfast, or brunch now.

- I'm gonna get me some of that in just a second.

- But you got a four-alt spinner bait hook.

[Justis and Bryan laugh] - Joe even though it was not the perfect day for what we were trying to do, we made the best of it.

- That's right, you know, we schedule these trips out sometimes months in advance.

So you really can't actually pick the day, but we had planned to use spinner baits and buzz baits.

And Justis had caught some fish earlier in the week prior to us being there, so we went out on the water.

And these guys were good, food fishermen.

Justice is one of the best, better bass fishermen we've got up here in the northeast part of North Carolina.

So they stuck with it.

And you know it was a bright, sun shiny day.

A beautiful day to be on the water, just not that perfect spinner bait day.

But we did end up catching fish and had a good morning.

Let's talk more about the lures.

Let's join our anglers now for gear time.

[relaxing acoustic guitar] - Justis we knew about what we were gonna get into.

You know even when we started out this morning when we chose to fish with buzz baits and spinner baits.

You know we started opposite.

I threw a spinner bait and been throwing it all day long.

And you started with a buzz bait.

Switched up to a spinner bait, and then went back to a buzz bait.

And we caught a little fish way up that creek in that shady.

But you've been catching some fish on a buzz bait, haven't you?

- Yeah, it's that time of the year.

It'll catch a big fish.

- Mmm hmm.

In tournaments I like to you know try to catch a big one.

- [Bryan] Mmm hmm.

- [Justis] And then, and then go from there, but I'll go with whatever works.

We say a fool don't change.

- [Bryan] That's right.

- [Justis] If you're beating me on spinner bait, I'm gonna change to a spinner bait.

- [Bryan] Yeah.

- [Justis] It was a beautiful day, a bright, bright blue bird.

Really not a spinner bait or a buzz bait day.

- [Bryan] Right but that's what he chose to do cause that what, you know when we set out this morning, we said we're gonna catch them on spinner bait, and we're not, you know, catch 'em with a blade one way or the other.

- [Justis] Right.

- Well tell me a little bit about the buzz baits.

- [Justis] I started out with a buzz jewel.

- [Bryan] Uh huh.

- Billy Phillips makes that.

This is a [talks fast], just different colors.

- Uh huh.

- Black is a good early morning or late evening bait for some reason it just shows up better.

- Uh huh.

- Silhouette I think.

- Yup.

And then of course you know this white is just a bait fish color.

And a buzz bait aggravates 'em.

You know, they come through pads or cover, whatever, and they're sitting there and they just-- - It provokes a strike.

- Yeah, they annihilate a buzz bait.

It's fun, it's fun.

If you've never fished one, I-- - Oh they're great fun.

- It's fun to try and it'll catch a big fish.

- I um, I started out with spinner, you know I always like fishing to fish geof stuff, I don't know if it makes any difference.

- Right.

- But you know really today I chose a single willow leaf blade because I knew I was gonna be fishing it deeper.

- [Justis] Right.

- [Bryan] And slower.

- Right.

- It's not something that you're really gonna buzz across the top in these kind of conditions.

- Right.

- And if the buzz bait was catching them, I'd have done that.

- Right.

- But you know this fish geof stuff either in a natural like that with some painted blades or, I like the fishy colors.

I like the gold blade personally.

- Right.

- In these, these kind of, this water conditions up these creeks and stuff.

- Yeah.

- But look man.

12 pound, 15 pound, bait casting.

- Yup.

- Medium bait casters.

- Medium, medium heavy, yup.

- And you just go have a good time, throwing in the blade.

- It's fun.

Gotta have a litte bit of tip, but enough back bone to bring 'em out.

- Yup.

Well cool, let's go catch us another one to bring back.

- Let's do it.

- Alright man, appreciate it.

- Yes sir.

- Well as always we appreciate that valuable information, but now let's catch up with Donna.

She's in the kitchen, she's got a recipe you're gonna like.

Today she's using scallops.

[relaxing acoustic guitar] - Hi, today in the kitchen we're making scallops with a corn salad.

This is a great recipe and you can make it really spicy if you want, or you can make it mild.

So let's go ahead and get started.

I have these great scallops that are nice and plump and juicy.

So we're just gonna use about three scallops per plate.

So you need about 12 scallops for this recipe.

Then we're gonna take our spicy hot breader.

I like to make mine a little spicy.

So we're gonna use spicy hot breader.

But if you don't like 'em hot and spicy, cause the corn salad's gonna be a little warm too.

You can always use just regular seafood breader if you like, or you can kind of mix and match if you want a little bit of both.

So I have my spicy hot breader on, or my medium hot breader on my wax paper.

And then I'm just gonna take my scallops, and I'm going to just dredge them in my breader.

And we're gonna do just a couple at a time right now.

And we have our oil in our pan and it's heating up.

So we want, what we're basically doing with these scallops is we're gonna sear them.

You don't need to cook scallops for very long.

I keep trying to tell my husband that.

He likes to overcook them.

But we're just going to sear them on the outside so that I lock in the juices.

And we're only going to cook these for about two to three minutes per side.

You just want them nice and golden brown.

So we're gonna shake off a little extra, and then we're just going to place this in our hot oil.

And sear these.

And while these are searing, we're gonna go ahead and we're gonna throw together our corn salad.

And it goes together quickly and easily as well.

Um, what I've done is I've taken my ears of corn and I brushed them with olive oil, or you can just spray them with a nonstick spray, and then I just cook them on the grill.

And this is a great thing to do with extra corn.

So say one night you want to have grilled corn on the cobb.

It's great, it's yummy.

But then you have some extra ears left, and what are you gonna do with that?

So we're gonna cut it off the cobb, and you're gonna see it's nice and charred on part of it.

Which makes it really nice and yummy.

And when you're cooking these on the grill you'll hear them pop, and it's like popcorn.

It's really lots of fun, my kids thought it was a hoot.

So then we're just gonna take our knife and run it across and cut the kernels off the cobb.

We have some in our bowl already.

Then we're going to add just a little lime juice, and I like to use my fresh lime juice.

And then you can pop these in your garbage disposal if you have one and clean out your garbage disposal, make your house smell good.

So we're gonna do that, and then we're gonna add a little mayonnaise to this.

And some ricotta cheese that is called ricatta salata.

And it's a nice firm cheese.

You're gonna find it where you find regular cheeses.

Not where you would find cottage cheese and that kind of thing.

So we're gonna add some of that in here.

And it's almost like a feta.

So if you can't find this cheese, you can use feta cheese too which would be ymmuy And then we have some red onion.

We're gonna add a little garlic to this, cause everything's better with garlic.

Especially the kind that comes in the tube because we know that's quick and easy.

And a little chili powder.

We're gonna toss all this together, and you can pop this in your fridge if you want and keep it and use it when you like.

Or we can just place it on our bowl or on our plate, and top our scallops with it.

So let's go ahead and check our scallops real quick.

I think they're ready to be turned.

Oh, those are awesome, look at that.

Look how pretty that is.

Nice and golden brown on the sides.

So those are gonna be nice and crispy, but yet juicy and tender on the inside, which is exactly what we want.

So let's look at it when we put it all together.

We have our great corn salad here on the bottom.

And you can make the corn salad ahead of time if you want and chill it down, I think that would be really yummy.

And then we're gonna top it with three scallops, and some lime wedges if you like.

It's a great, great dinner, and I hope you enjoy it.

So enjoy these scallops and corn salad.

And I look forward to seeing you next time here on Simple Cooking.

- Thanks Donna for that recipe.

That's one you want to keep up with.

Joe let's go back to that day of fishing now.

Yeah, like we said earlier, it was a pretty tough day.

Bright sunshine, nice day to be on the water, but not really so much for what we were trying to do.

But the guys stuck with it and we caught a number of bass.

Nothing big that day.

Justis was hoping to catch a fish on the buzz bait up top because that bait generates such a vicious strike.

I mean anybody that fishes them knows that's part of the reason you fish them, because they do really hit them hard.

But we switched to spinner baits and caught fish.

And one of the spinner baits that we used that day was made by a fellow out of Greensboro, Dave's Tournament Tackle.

And he actually, actually these are custom made.

And they really are, it's a good looking bait, and a very effective bait, spinner bait.

So you know we'll give you his address and if you want to try them out.

But they were really effective that day.

- And a day it was.

We had a great time fishing in North Carolina.

For Joe Albea, I'm John Moore.

Thanks for joining us today on the Carolina Outdoor Journal.

- [Announcer] Make sure to visit our website for more information.

- [Announcer] The production of Carolina Outdoor Journal is made possible in part by: - [Female Announcer] Wildlife in North Carolina Magazine.

ncwildlife.org/winc.

- [Male Announcer] And by EZ Bait and Tackle, family owned and operated.

We've been fishing since 2003.

Come see the crew in Goldsboro, North Carolina, and we can hook you up for all your fishing needs.

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