(piano intro) - [Greg] Yeah, it looks like another nice one.

- [Joe] Yeah.

- [Greg] See if he'll jump.

- [Joe] Oh, he'll jump.

Yeah, there he goes.

Yeah, that's better than the last one.

- [Greg] Yeah, getting better as we go.

- [Joe] Yep, we're gonna get 'em turned on here in a few minutes.

And that little slick is, what, 20 feet across?

Yeah, right.

- [Greg] Yes, about 20 foot strike zone there.

- [Joe] Well that's not uncommon on this lake.

It seems like the humps and the points and things-- are like that.

- [male announcer]: The Carolina Outdoor Journal is brought to you by: - [female announcer]: "Wildlife in North Carolina" magazine has been delivering stunning photography and informative articles for more than 80 years.

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

Well, if you like bass fishing, you're gonna like today's program because we're gonna be using live bait.

Today's guide is Greg Griffin.

- That's right, Captain Greg Griffin who specializes in catching largemouth bass, not only on the Shearon Harris, but on Jordan Lake, Falls Lake, the lakes that surround the Triangle area, Raleigh area of Central North Carolina.

Today we're doing it a little differently.

We are using live bait.

In the past on Shearon Harris, we've used a number of artificial baits, with great success.

We've caught some really pretty fish through the years.

Shearon Harris is one of our trophy bass lakes here in North Carolina.

And today, we don't catch any real, real big fish, but we catch a really pretty class of largemouth.

And Greg's gonna show us how to do it utilizing live bait.

Utilizing his depth finder and the knowledge of the lake that he has put us on the fish.

- And we'll get good information during your time today for that.

- Yeah, he'll go over the rigging today that we use.

We're using two methods: a cork float and also the Carolina rig without a float.

And caught fish both ways.

- And when all the fishing's done, we catch up with Donna in the kitchen with grilled quail.

- Grilled quail recipe, yeah.

Most of our recipes have to do with fish or seafood, but occasionally we like to throw in a game recipe, bird, game bird, or game animal, and today it's quail.

- Alright, let's go fishing on Carolina Outdoor Journal.

- [Joe] Well, Greg, I've fished this lake for 20 years or more.

Mostly tournament fishing and we've never had an opportunity to use live bait over here, so this is gonna be interesting to me.

- Yeah, should be, should be a lot of fun.

It's something different, and if you've never done it before it's quite the experience.

- Yeah, well we've never used live bait and it's the last week of October.

We've picked a really good day, it's like 70 degrees, hardly any wind, just enough to keep the water moving a little bit.

It's gonna be good.

- Yeah, it's perfect conditions today.

We're very fortunate.

These are the bass we're gonna try to catch.

There's a good school of them around this high spot and the old railroad track.

- [Joe] Yeah, and they're coming up even off the backside, there's some nice fish right there.

- Yeah, this time of year they'll get out here in the little deeper water and suspend, and then as that sun comes up and it gets later in the day, they'll move closer toward these high spots and they'll position up on top of 'em.

So you can see that happening now, they're getting there.

A little while ago, they were all over here.

Now, they're here, in another hour, they'll all be right here.

- Waiting for the dinner bell.

- Yep, that's right.

We have the bell so let's go ring it.

- [Joe] Alright.

- So the bait we're using today is threadfin shad.

And Shearon Harris has both threadfin and gizzard shad.

But threadfin's are by far the better of the two for bait.

I hook 'em one of two ways.

Either though the back right here, between the dorsal and the tail fin, right at the color change.

So you go under the spine and they live a long time.

Advantage is they get a lot of action on the hook, disadvantage is they come off the hook pretty easy on a cast.

The way I prefer to hook 'em most of the time is through the nostrils sideways like this.

And what that does is it keeps their mouth open so they can still breathe and swim around and live long enough for a bass to find 'em.

- Mm-hmm.

Well, let's go find 'em.

There you go.

(reel winding) Live bait bass.

Yes, pretty fish.

- [Joe] Yeah.

That's a nice one.

(mumbling) - [Joe] Yeah.

(water splashing) (reel winding) (laughs) I got his sister.

- [Greg] Yeah.

- [Joe] Yeah-- - [Greg] Nice one.

- [Joe] That chunky fish.

- [Greg] Yeah, I'll grab yours while I'm down here.

Oh yeah, nice fish.

(water splashing) - The dinner bell has rang.

(Joe laughing) Which one's which?

Exactly the same.

- [Greg] Twins.

- [Joe] Yeah, twins.

Me to get 'em?

- [Greg] Yeah, there you go.

- [Both] Alright.

- [Joe] First live bait fish at Shearon Harris.

(laughing) He's wanting to go back with us.

So that's how you do it.

- [Greg] That's how you do it.

- Well that's pretty easy.

(Greg laughing) - [Greg] So we're doing two different methods today.

You're on the fishing the Carolina rig, just a bottom rig with a sliding sinker.

And I'm fishing a slip cork rig.

So yours with be right on the bottom and mine suspended couple feet off the bottom.

That kinda helps you cover all levels.

- Right.

- You remember on that picture, those fish were from the bottom all the way up, four, five feet.

- Well, in this structure there, because I can feel it with this rig, rocks and stuff down on that old trestle.

So we're covering the zones and then I guess you locate early like this and find out what zone the fish are in.

And then we'll...

There he goes.

(reel winding) Alright, look at that.

Old cork fish.

- [Greg] One on the cork.

- [Joe] Yeah.

You had that threadfin hooked more back in the dorsal area I noticed.

- [Greg] Yes.

- [Joe] That work better with the cork?

- Yeah, it makes it a little bit easier to cast 'cause you've got the additional weight of the cork itself so it's a little easier to throw that rig with a back-hooked bait.

Plus, we weren't getting enough hits on it.

- [Joe] Right, so we're just looking right now.

- [Greg] Mm-hmm.

Another nice little slot fish.

So we've moved over to a different spot that's a little more conducive to float fishing.

It's a lot deeper water and the fish are suspended here.

So this should be a better venue.

Oh, just missed one.

- [Joe] So this water's like 55 feet deep.

- [Greg] Yeah, about 45 to 50 feet deep, and-- - [Joe] Right there.

- These fish are suspended anywhere from 10-15 feet, somewhere in there.

- [Joe] There's one, Greg.

My first Shearon Harris caught fish.

- [Greg] Yes.

Hopefully not your last.

- [Joe] No, no way.

A little better, too.

He's just strong.

Just strong.

- [Greg] Yeah, yeah.

- Yep.

There are strong healthy fish.

A little guy, a little guy.

But he went on that shad.

- [Greg] Yeah, he hit it like he was hungry.

- [Joe] You're fat and pretty.

(water splashing) Let's try that again.

(gentle guitar music) - [Greg] Yeah, looks like another nice one.

- [Joe] Yeah.

- [Greg] See if he'll jump.

- [Joe] Oh, he'll jump.

- [Both] There he goes.

- [Joe] Yeah, that's better than the last one.

- [Greg] Yeah.

Getting better.

Better as we go.

- [Joe] Yeah, we gonna get 'em turned on here in a few minutes.

- [Greg] That's-- - [Joe] And that old slick is, what, 20 feet across?

- [Greg] Yes.

About 20 foot strike zone there.

- [Joe] Well that's not uncommon on this lake.

It seems like the humps and the points and things (water splashing) are like that.

- [Greg] Yeah, they all come over once you catch one.

They come over and see what's going on.

- [Joe] See what's going on, yeah.

Yeah, that one's better than the last one, Greg.

- [Greg] Yeah, that's a good one.

- [Joe] And it's just one little area up there that's holding them.

That's where the bait's at.

- [Greg] Yeah, that's where most of the current is.

The bait stays in the current, and the bass stay with the bait.

- [Joe] Well, I kinda over analyse things, I guess.

But, where you can see the current.

You know there's current all over this lake, but right here you can see it.

- [Greg] Yes.

- And it just gives you the confidence to fish that and fish it hard, and there's other places out here that's like that, I'm sure.

But that's how the rivers are, you can see that current in the rivers.

- [Greg] Right.

- [Joe] And target in on the key area.

- [Greg] Yeah, it makes it easier when the wind's not blowing.

And we got lucky today.

We don't have to deal with that strong winds.

- [Joe] Yeah.

- [Greg] I think I'm gonna adjust my cast.

(laughs) - [Joe] Yeah, it's right there I see-- - [Greg] Yeah, it seems like just a second ago you said, "There's my first slip float fish."

- [Joe] Yeah.

Yeah, they're right in that, right there-- - [Greg] Yeah, seems like a month ago.

- [Joe] Yeah, if you miss that spot, it's like they won't bite but they are.

Keyed in, and they're not killing it now, they're just taking it.

- [Greg] Yeah, just kind of inhaling it.

- [Joe] Yeah.

(fish splashing) Yeah, and they are just all good, solid, fat, healthy fish.

That one had the hook right where I wanted to put my thumb.

I just did get that one.

They are fat, there's gotta be a million shad down there.

- [Greg] Yeah, it's a smorgasbord down there for sure.

- [Joe] Yeah.

Well, I'm glad he decided on mine.

Job.

That one's pulling a little bit.

- [Greg] Yeah, he's-- - [Joe] These are really strong fish.

- [Greg] Yeah, they are.

All these three lakes here in the Piedmont all produce stout thick-bodied fish.

- [Joe] Healthy, solid.

Course's full of thrift and shad.

- [Greg] Yeah, that's the key.

- [Joe] Yeah, plenty of forage.

But I believe-- - [Greg] That was a nice one there.

- [Joe] That was a little better, yeah.

Yep, pretty fish.

Hard to beat ol' live bait offering, too.

- [Greg] Yeah, that's a... - [Joe] Yep, still in the slot.

- Yep, have a slot fish.

- [Joe] No keepers.

- Not yet.

I have a good feeling about it, though.

(Joe laughing) - [Joe] I can see why.

Well now, Greg, I know you said you fish this lake probably 200 days a year, but what's your favorite time of the year?

- If I had to pick one month, I would probably pick June.

- Yeah.

- The post-spawn fishing is very consistent and very good.

But this type of fishing we're doing today is good from May until about the end of November.

- [Joe] Had a little bump.

- You can catch them in other months, but they tend to separate some, or even if they're schooled up in the winter they don't tend to feed as much.

- Even when we were Carolina rig fishing with plastics, June, July, they'll get more concentrated.

You catch numbers of fish on one spot.

So, I probably could understand why you'd say June.

- Yeah, June probably number one, and September probably number two.

But, good all summer, really.

Once they get into that summer pattern it's excellent.

- [Joe] Yeah, I thought I had another crappie.

They're still suspended.

They just grab the bait and will hold onto it there.

- [Greg] Yup, he didn't hit it very hard.

- [Joe] No, he didn't.

But we had caught a couple of crappie, and I thought, "Well there's another crappie bite."

So I didn't really hit that fish too hard, but-- - [Greg] That's what I thought it was for sure.

- [Joe] Yeah.

(water splashing) - [Greg] Think that's bass.

- [Joe] Yeah.

White perch, bass, all mixed up together here.

- [Greg] 'Course if it's a white perch, I've probably got the state records.

(Joe laughing) - [Joe] Yeah, it feels like he's got shoulders on him.

- [Greg] Yeah.

- [Joe] Oh yeah, there's a largemouth.

- [Greg] Yep.

- [Joe] Ol' big mouth chewing.

- [Greg] Another one.

Another one off this spot.

- [Joe] Yep.

Will you mark the bunch of 'em?

- [Greg] Yeah, that's one of those little marks turned into real life there.

- Real life.

Alright, that one's a little better.

I got a hook in that one.

- [Greg] Little bend in the rod there.

- [Joe] Yeah, there he is.

Ol' big mouth bass.

Jump, jump, jump.

(water splashing) Oh, they're fat fish.

Watch the hook.

There you go.

- [Greg] Alright.

- That's a healthy fish.

- I'm getting used to doing that.

- I could get used to doing that.

- Yeah, these are very nice class all-- - [Joe] Yeah.

- [Greg] Two to four pounds.

This one's probably close to three pounds.

- [Joe] Yeah, that's if you weight him.

If I weigh him he'll probably go five, five and a half.

- [Greg] Well, if I don't catch another one, it'll be five.

(Joe laughing) (Greg laughs) - Joe, there's no question.

Greg has a good knowledge of that lake.

- Yeah, that plays into it, no question.

Anywhere we fish having local knowledge and expertise on how to do it makes my job a lot easier in the field.

And, of course, that day you saw we had a really pretty day to do it.

The lake, anytime you fish in any lake, or any body of water for that matter, if we don't have a wind factor to play with or deal with, it makes for a better day.

But his knowledge of the lake, and utilizing that new technology that we've gotten over the years, the depth finders that we have on boats now, put us on the fish.

And then using live bait, it's hard for a bass to turn down.

Alright, let's find out more, let's go to Geartime.

(upbeat guitar music) Well, Greg, I've had a really good time today.

We've caught a lot of fish.

I've missed a lot of fish.

This live bait fishing with the corks, especially for me, is a little different.

I had times I had too much slack in the line.

I didn't get it right before I set the hook.

It really was exciting fishing.

- Yeah, it's different and it takes a little bit of getting used to, but it's a lot of fun when it all comes together.

- Yeah, well, we threw corks today, slip corks, and Carolina rigs.

And I'm accustomed to the Carolina rig.

We've always used a heavier weight than what you've used today.

But tell me about the rig you used today.

- Yeah, it's just a standard Carolina rig.

The only difference is I don't use a swivel.

I typically just tie a double uni knot, so I have a little leader material here.

But I like to use a light weight just to kinda keep the bait, give the bait the ability to move around so it doesn't die as fast.

And with the corks, same thing, I use a half ounce on those for the same reasons.

And also, you just wanna use enough to get the cork to stand up.

- With the slip cork you can go from no water to 14, 15, 16-- - [Greg] Right - Feet of water by adjusting the stopper there.

- Right, you just move it up and down.

And today 13, 14 feet was the magic number.

It rarely changes much in the Piedmont, but sometimes you have to go a little deeper.

- How about your rods and reels?

- A seven foot medium action rod, medium-heavy action rod's ideal.

These TFOs are fantastic for this.

The reels, 2,000 to a 3,000 series reel.

These Penns do a great job.

Good little combo here.

They don't overpower the bass, but they give you enough if you do hook a big one.

- [Joe] Yeah.

- [Greg] You don't have to worry too much.

- [Joe] I almost thought maybe I needed a little more gear ratio (Greg laughing) to catch that slack up.

- Yeah, it just comes with time and getting used to it.

- Yeah, if you don't pay attention to wind or have a big bow in your line-- - [Greg] Yeah, that's true.

- [Joe] You gotta tighten that up.

How about the bait?

Now we used threadfin shad today, is that right?

- Yeah, today we used threadfins, which I typically do on this lake.

There are threadfins and gizzards, but these are far superior.

They don't get as big, they live better in the tank, and they just flat out catch bass and everything else that swims in there.

- Right, well we caught everything.

Catfish, white perch, crappie, bass and all.

- Yeah, it was a lot of fun.

- Yeah, it was.

Do you notice the bigger fish come on bigger baits or not?

- I'd rather always use them if I can get them, but as long as it's a medium size and up, they'll all work.

- Well, I really enjoyed it.

I'd like to do it again.

- Alright, anytime.

- Thank you, sir.

- Thanks.

- Greg, thanks for all that valuable information.

Greg Griffin's number's there on your screen.

Give him a call, he'd love to take you out fishing.

Now, Donna's in the kitchen, and she's got a recipe that I know I'm gonna like.

It's all about grilled quail.

(gentle guitar music) - Hi, today in the kitchen we're making a grilled quail with an herb brine.

This is a really cool, brining is really popular.

You can do wet brines or dry brines.

And this is kinda like a dry rub, like you would do for a rib, I think.

So what we're gonna do is we're gonna start out in our mini little food processor, or you can use your blender if you have, whichever one you like to use.

We're gonna add three tablespoons of salt.

We're gonna add some black ground pepper.

Some onion powder, and some garlic powder.

Then we're gonna add in some fresh parsley that's just chopped a little bit, and help chop it a little quicker.

And then some fresh thyme.

And to use your thyme, it comes like this, it has these little leaves, and that's what you want.

So what you do is you take your hand, and you just kinda strip it off, and put it in there.

So you don't want the stem in there, like I've gotten in here.

You just wanna pull it off like that.

So we're gonna put some fresh thyme, this is (mumbles) really great flavors.

So we're gonna put our lid on.

And just give it pulse until it's all mixed together.

(processor whirring) And chopped up, so... Good enough for purposes right now.

So we're take that off.

We're gonna take this off our base.

Maybe, maybe not.

We're just gonna use it right there.

So then what we're gonna do is, we have our mixture here in our food processor We're going to take our quail.

And what I've done is, I've taken out the backbone of my quail.

So I'm gonna turn it over so that it's breast-side down.

And I'mma take my shears, my kitchen shears, or my kitchen scissors.

And I'm just gonna cut along the backbone.

And that way these lay out flat, and when you're grilling them, they'll grill a little bit more evenly.

So we're just gonna cut along the backbone of your quail, just like that.

And then you're gonna lay it down with your breast up, and you're just gonna press it with your hand.

And you'll kinda here it flatten out.

And then we're gonna take our brine, and we're just gonna sprinkle it over this.

We're gonna let this sit in our fridge for 12 to 24 hours, so this is something you could do ahead of time.

And I like to cover mine with the lid.

And that's what it looks like inside your container after it's brined overnight.

Then, just spray it with a little non-stick spray.

Place it on your grill, and grill it up and you're ready to go.

Quick and easy, and it's got some great flavor to it.

So I hope you enjoy the grilled quail, and I look forward to seeing you next time here on Simple Cooking.

- Thanks Donna for another great recipe.

Joe, I wanna go back.

We need to talk about, this is a great time to take the family fishing.

- Yeah, and he does take families and young people fishing utilizing this method because it's so visual and it's very effective.

I mean, they catch a lot of fish and I think it's a great opportunity to introduce somebody, young or old, to the sport of fishing by using live bait like this.

And it's very productive and Greg spent a lot of time, on not only Shareon Harris, but Jordan, and falls like here in the Triangle, and knows them well.

And if you've never fished before give him a call 'cause it is a good opportunity to get out on the water, catch one of the more favorable freshwater fish we got here in North Carolina, large mouth bass.

He also takes you fishing for white perch and crappie, or croppie, on the lakes, too.

All these lakes got good populations of both.

So, if you've never done it, give him a call and go have some fun.

- For me it will always be crappie.

(Joe laughs) For Joe Albea, I'm John Moore.

Thanks for joining us today on the Carolina Outdoor Journal.

- [male announcer]: Ma ke sure to visit our website for more information.

- The Carolina Outdoor Journal is brought to you by: - [female announcer]: "Wildlife in North Carolina" magazine has been delivering stunning photography and informative articles for more than 80 years.

- [male announcer]: And by EZ Bait & Tackle.

Family owned and operated.

We fish from fresh to saltwater.

We provide fishing supplies and advice to every type of angler.

For all your fishing needs, EZ Bait & Tackle.

- And by contributions from PBS North Carolina viewers like you.

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