[gentle orchestral fanfare] - Right on the edge, I think, of the flat here on the creek channel.

- Oh, 'nother quick chub.

- Uh oh!

- Quick release, you win a few, you lose a few.

- And some are tagging.

- We was gonna put him back anyway.

But I could've played with him just a little bit.

- Yeah.

- Man.

Right on the edge.

Maybe his brother is out there.

- Mmmhmm.

- There it, there he is.

- You're kidding.

- I'm kidding.

[laughter] - There he is.

- Two casts in a row.

- Two casts in-- - That's the way it's supposed to be.

- This is Momma here.

- [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 will take us bass fishing.

We're talking deep water bass fishing today.

- That's right, we're going to spend some time with one of the more popular guides in the Jordan Lake, Sharon Harris Lake area, Phil Cable.

We're going to be fishing deep water structure for large mouth bass in the summer time.

Hot time of the year, but that's where the fish are, that's where they move offshore and they spend most of their summer in this off, deeper water off shore structure and Phil's gonna give us a lesson in doing that.

- What will Phil share with us in Gear Time today?

- Well, just the baits that was used, and we'll talk about the tackle requirements, but mainly the baits that work, lures that worked really well for that type of fishing.

- And Donna's in the kitchen, let me see if I got this right.

Lemon Baked Fish sticks, that just sounds good.

- Yeah, well it does and I think it's a new way of serving up fish sticks, and growing up, I used to eat fish sticks a lot and this is a different way I think.

- Well, if you like bass fishing, this show's for you.

Join us now for the Carolina Outdoor Journal.

- Phil, it's early July, we're up in Jordan Lake and I knew it was going to be hot today and we got an early start this morning.

But where'd these fish move up to this time of year when the water temperatures get warm like this?

- I try to catch them out on a lot in these flats.

I usually set out in deeper water and throw up.

And this eight, 10 feet of water is, as the water gets hotter, I just try to target the fish probably more a little deeper, 12 to 15 feet.

We're going to be throwing crank baits, probably Carolina rigs, Texas rig worms, just trying to find what they want today.

It can change daily.

It can be a bite.

- That's why they call it fishing, not catching.

- I'm happy we'll figure 'em out today, where we can catch a fish today.

- Well, we gonna throw a different bait at 'em occasionally.

We'll find 'em.

- [Joe] Got a fish on Phil?

- Yes sir.

He's pulling pretty good.

- Yeah, that old crank bait is a good bait, if you can get it near the bottom.

- Maybe that's what he been waiting for.

Maybe they want that Carolina rig today - We'd been all over-- - There he is right there.

Oh that good fish.

- Yeah.

- You want to net him or you want me to lip him?

- [Phil] You might want to net him, keep from sticking that hook in your hand, that's... Yeah.

That's what we were looking for.

- That's what we were looking for.

[laughter] We're slowly gettin' started this morning.

That's a good solid fish too.

- I think it's a five pounder.

- Yeah.

Well that depends on who's weighing him.

Since you caught him, he may go five.

If I caught that fish, he'd have weighed seven or eight.

- Seven or eight.

[laughter] - He's got a few sores on him there.

Fat, healthy, full of forage.

- [Phil] Yeah.

- [Joe] Yeah, that's a pretty fish.

Alright, it's my turn.

- [Phil] Thank you.

[laughter] - Good job.

I gotta crank bait too.

- See if we can do that again.

- Yeah.

You do that again, I'm gonna find my crank bait.

- Earlier, we were talking about that road bend that's under the bridge right there.

I remember several years ago, I came down here when we'd fish to term and there'd been fish all over that road, and we'd throw Carolina rig all over it and never caught a fish on it.

Didn't end up doing well at all that day.

I came back Monday, with one of my customers and friend, and we pulled up on it, and I could see the fish on it again, threw Carolina rig out there and nothing.

Couldn't' get a bite.

And I picked up a crank bait and threw out across that thing and it was on, and it was every cast.

And I thought to myself, how dumb was I.

The other day those fish were here, I just didn't fish them like they wanted to be fish.

Sometimes a problem, I think fisherman have, they go out, they've already decided how they're going to catch the fish that day and don't let the fish tell them what they really need to know.

- [Joe] How many days do you leave home without something tied on your rod.

- Oh yeah.

- That's what I'm going to catch him on, right there.

The fish being hard-headed or the fishermen being hard-headed.

That a pretty good fish?

- Ah, I wouldn't, there he is.

Yeah, he's a good fish.

- Yeah he is a good fish.

- Yeah he's a nice fish.

Showed himself.

- Yeah.

Showing off.

A little crank bait on that point, works pretty good.

- [Phil] Think we're getting ready to see him again.

There he is again.

- There he is.

Yeah.

- [Phil] This guy got a little acrobatics, he's not like the last guy.

- The last one was lazy.

Need a little help with him?

- Yeah it don't hurt.

Help an old man here.

[water splashing] Watch your fingers, - He's not as big, as the last one.

- watch out for them hooks.

There you go - Pretty solid fish.

- Yep.

- You had him hooked real good.

You did a good job catching him.

- I swear.

[laughter] - And I've got him free now, good solid keeper fish.

- Oh yeah.

- Well, it was my turn but I'll get the next one.

- [Phil] I know, I really didn't want to do that.

- [Joe] I know you didn't.

- [Phil] I felt bad about it.

- Well, don't feel too bad.

[laughter] - I tell you what, if I feel another one bumping, I'll just try to take it away from you.

- You will.

Well that is mighty good of you.

- I'm that kind of guy.

- Well I'm not, so you better catch, get on-- - Sometimes I lose control.

- Yeah, weak.

I get weak too.

- What're we in?

About 20 feet fishing, - Yeah, 12 feet, - 21 feet?

- Nah, yeah about 12, 13 feet out there.

- They will gang up on those points some times.

- This one can be especially good because of the creek channel right behind us, I think that's one of the keys of this place, they just, they gotta place they can move up and down.

A lot of bait stays around here.

- He's a better then I thought he was fish.

That's the one I missed while ago.

- [Phil] That's the one you played with while ago.

- Well you give him a chance.

Now he's gonna go down there, he ain't coming back up.

Come on up, let's see what you look like.

Well.

- Got him?

- Got him.

He got my bait.

That was a brand new worm, he got.

- You don't mind sacrificing a worm for that fish though, do ya?

- Well if he was a little bigger maybe, but he ain't bad.

- He ain't bad.

- We'll give him one, we'll give him one.

Alright, I broke the ice.

Goin' on down there and find momma.

- [Phil] You're catching up now.

- Yeah.

- Don't take long to catch up, when it's only two.

[both laughing] [pleasing music] - [Joe] Phil, I know you fish year round, but what months do you like to get off shore and sit on these fish.

- It's starts the first of June, normally.

Sometimes right at the very end of May.

But normally you gotta get into June.

June, July, are probably the two best months.

August itn't bad, it's just their a lot steeper then.

The bites a little bit slimmer than right now.

All three of the months really.

I just like this time of year.

It's one of my favorite times of year to fish.

- Is it more time a year or water temperature?

Does that delay it some years?

- Well yeah, in June, you kinda wanna see the water get to at least bout 78.

And once it starts pushing that 80 plus mark, then they're really out here then.

Gets that bite going.

They move out here and they get on these bait fish, usually if you can find the bait, you can find the fish.

You just, fish a lot of these flats, where they feed.

Uh oh, do we gotta fish?

- It was a false alarm.

A stump fish.

- Okay.

- There's some good structure out here on this-- - Yes sir.

Good place for 'em.

- When you've only caught one, you get excited on every stump, every rock.

Yeah that's a good fish, I'm gonna need the net on that fish.

Yeah he was right up under the boat.

- [Phil] Come right here big boy.

- That's a good fish there.

- [Phil] Come right here big boy.

- Boy that's a nice fish.

- [Joe] He didn't let you play with him much, did he?

- Nah, no, hide right up, under the boat.

I was coming right off the side of that drop, and he must've been hanging right there on the edge.

- He had the opportunity to bite earlier.

Came in here to get a bait.

And while we're in here, catch fish sitting right on top of him.

- Yeah that's a perty fish.

- That's a perty fish.

Why didn't he bite earlier?

That's a solid healthy fish there.

- That's a good'un there.

- Yep, that's what we come to get.

- Slowly but surely.

- Yep, that a good'un there.

Shame you didn't get to play with him much.

- I tell you when he first started shaking his head.

- Yeah.

- And the way it felt.

It almost felt like a catfish.

- Yeah.

- You ever caught cat on a crank bait.

- Yeah, I have.

- Well that's exactly almost what he felt like to start with, and I said, please don't be no catfish.

[both men laughing] - I think I caught a catfish up here, the last time I was here.

When we were striper fishing.

Phil, when you're fishing off shore, like this, I know people look at ya.

You're in the middle of the lake, and anybody can do this, but there's a lot more to it then appears I'm sure.

- Yeah I think, the biggest thing is getting set up on a place properly.

Getting your boat positioned, cause a lot of times that makes a lot of difference if you're gonna catch those fish or not.

You know, if you got a high spot with a drop or something, get off the side of it, which way I prefer to fish it.

And try to throw up chow, and bring it off the side.

Also if it's a small place, make a circle.

Work around that spot, cause you know, the fish might be repositioned.

You might fish it on one side, and not get a bite.

And then turn around and get on the other side, and can get bit.

It could make the difference in night and day, you know, whatcha do on that spot.

- In this big area right here, we're probably fishing a 10 foot circle, maybe a 20 foot circle.

- Yeah maybe a 20 foot circle Yeah, basically.

We're fishing, actually, the corner of a flat.

Where it comes out and kinda does a 90 degree turn.

It's almost like a narrow underwater port, really, if you wanna look at it that way, that it forms.

- And you mark it with a marker.

- Yep - You mark it off the spot, so we won't get hung on the marker, move our marker, mess up our fish.

- Exactly.

Yeah the markers not on exactly what we're fishing.

It's just kinda a reference point, to me.

But it's where I know, that that side off the end of what we're trying to fish.

It just makes it simpler to me.

You get out here on this open water.

You can be off 30, 40 yards really easy, without having something to refer to, especially this far.

If you're closer to a bank, you and use a reference point on a bank.

But out here, you really need to use markers.

- You got to have it.

He's right on the edge, I think, of the flat here on the creek channel.

- Another good chub.

- Yeah, uh oh.

Quick release, you win a few, you lose a few.

- And some are tagging.

- We's gonna put him back anyway.

But I could've played with him a little bit.

- Yeah.

- Man.

- Right on the edge.

Maybe his brother's out there.

There he, there he is.

- Are you kidding?

- I'm kidding.

[both laughs] There he is.

- Two cast in a row.

- Two cast in a-- - And that's the way, it's supposed to be.

- This is momma here.

This is momma.

- Yeah this is a good one.

- Yeah this is momma right here.

Let's get a, where are we, in relation with that marker.

Yeah I got us.

- You got a bearing.

- Yeah I got a bearing.

- You got a bearing.

Oh look at that-- - That's a biggun'.

[Phil laughs] Come on up sweetie.

- Come on up Momma.

- Shake em.

- That hurt.

- That's a two hander there Phil.

- That hurts my arm.

[men laughing] - That's a two hander there.

- Wow.

That fish seven half, eight pounds.

That's a big fish.

- That's a... - That is a hoss.

- [Joe] Had that one hooked perty good.

- Yes you did.

- Yeah that one wouldn't've shook off.

- He's perty.

- Perty fish, that's a perty fish.

That's what you brought me up here to get, right there.

- Exactly.

- I figured it out, it took a little while, but we got her.

- Slowly but surely.

- Look at her.

- [Phil] We ain't caught a bad fish today.

- No we haven't.

- They've all been big fish.

- All been good fish.

- What do ya think, that's, what's that, that fifth one.

- Yeah I think that's - Two or three of 'em, - the fifth one.

- been over five pounds.

- Yeah that's right.

- Yeah that's good fishin'.

- And just like we talked earlier about the position, we fished all over that fish already.

We just changed angle.

And got her excited and she bit.

- And I believe you were coming right down side the ledge, rather then up on top of it.

You came right down the edge.

- That's right.

Yep.

- Look how far we've drifted off the marker.

That's why you put a marker out.

You probably turn around here and got ready to fish again.

You would think you're right where you caught no fish while.

That's 75 yards up there.

- We're well past where I was when we caught the fish.

- [Phil] Well let's take her back.

- Joe that particular day we didn't catch a lot of fish, but we caught a good class of fish.

- We really did, it was a tough day on the water.

And the guys admitted it was pretty warm that day.

Just one of those typical summer days, but you fish a number of various fields.

Fished that lake for a long time, and actually holds the current large mouth record for that lake, 14 pounds, six ounces.

Which is a huge bass.

Which he released after weighing it.

But they stuck to it, and as you saw.

A good class of fish.

- Well let's talk about the gear that we used that particular day.

Let's go to Gear Time.

[upbeat music] - Well Phil, it was a tough day, we beat out a nice mess of fish.

Was hard work, we had to fish a lot of different spots to do it.

- Yeah we did, sometimes it's like that.

Sometimes you can fish one spot, and sometimes it's like it was today.

One fish at a time.

We just didn't find that mother lode we looked for all day.

- We caught quality fish.

- We caught quality, we have three over five, one over seven, so you know, the rest of 'em were pretty standard.

And you lost another one that was three or four pounds.

But it's been a six bite day.

- And I think they were all keepers.

We didn't measure fish, but were not close enough to have to.

- You wouldn't've had to measure any of those.

They were good fish.

You probably had a, if you were a tournament angler, and doing it a time, you probably had five that weighed 25, so there's nothing wrong with catch line.

- Not at all.

That's very respectful.

Tell me what you do, when you're fishing here.

What types of baits and we used a lot of different things today.

- I'm pretty basic, I love a crank bait.

That's probably my main staple.

I like to really throw that.

And I throw different ones.

And get to different depths.

Carolina rig, you always have to have that ready.

That's just the fish catching tow.

You can use an assortments of plastics on that.

We did throw a heavy jig a little bit today.

Threw a big worm, actually, just a little bit.

And I think that was the main stay of what we threw the better part of the day.

But you have to change it up.

Some days, and even sometimes in the middle day, that bite can change.

- Crank bait was definitely better today.

- Yeah, four of the five fish were on a crank bait that we caught.

And the other fish that got off was on a crank bait.

So today, this had to be the better bite.

- When I throw a crank bait, I like, out here on the open water, I like a long rod.

'Cause we're making long cast.

To get the bait down, I throw a seven foot rod.

I like a flexible tip, so I don't pull the bait out of the fish' mouth.

Even though I did pull the bait out of the fish' mouth.

Still get excited.

- That's gonna happen, you can't land them all.

- How about your Carolina rig rod.

- Carolina rig, I like a long rod, I use a seven and a half foot graphite rod.

On Jordan I use a 20 pound test main line, with a 14 pound test leader.

Gives a little bit more action.

I actually sometimes, it saves you, a weight, and a barrel swivel, 'cause your leader will normally break first.

It also gives it better action.

- We basically were throwing just a monofilament.

This is a new monofilament, that Sufix is making.

It's got very little stretch.

And when you're sitting hooked on a fish, that's important.

And no memory, it's a very castable line.

And the newer monofilaments are a lot better than they used to be.

- [Phil] Oh yeah.

- Lot stronger.

- I'm kinda still old school, I haven't tried any of those.

I did try, in the early days, some of the braids.

I didn't really care for any of that.

But I still use a basic monofilament line.

And I've had pretty good success with.

- And I guess, we're throwing three quarters, or one ounce weights on that Carolina rig.

- Sure.

Three to four foot leaders.

Three quarter, one ounce weights.

- And the hook varied from a two aught, to probably a four aught, depending on what size bait we're throwing.

- Exactly, exactly.

- Well it was a good day.

I had a good time.

I enjoyed it.

- I did too.

- I learned some new spots on the lake I'd never seen before.

- Maybe we can get back here and do it again, and you'd learn a few more.

- Looking forward to it, I appreciate the invitation.

- Yes sir, bubby, I enjoyed it.

- Yes sir - Phil and Joey, thanks for sharing that information with us.

Now, let's catch up with Donna, she's in the kitchen.

With a recipe for lemon baked fish sticks.

[pleasant music] - Hi, today we're gonna make lemon fish sticks.

This is a great recipe for you to get your kids in the kitchen with you.

And cook up something that they will really like.

But still kinda nutritional as well.

So we're gonna go ahead and get started.

What we're gonna do is, we're gonna combine two different breaders today.

We're gonna use a lemon pepper breader, and we're also gonna use the in your oven breader.

So we're gonna add those in here.

We're gonna add the lemon pepper for some flavor and... some crunch.

As well as with the in your oven.

This is a great way to combine different flavors together, but you don't really have to think about what kind of spices I'm gonna put together.

It's already done for you.

We're gonna shake that together.

To mix it all up, and then we're going to take, fold it down, 'cause it helps keep our hands cleaner, and just a little bit neater.

We're gonna take our white fish, and what I've done, is I've just cut it into, strips.

If you want to, you can cut it into chunks.

However it is easier.

If you have smaller children, chunks might be a little bit better.

But the strips work out nicely.

Then we're gonna coat it with some lemon.

And a great way to use this lemon, instead of slicing it and trying to squeeze it all out, or using, 'cause I like fresh lemon juice.

So what I'm going to do, I'm gonna take my lemon, and I'm just gonna rub it onto my cutting board.

And that way, it'll kinda squeeze it together.

Squeeze it in there for you.

You're making your own, juice.

And this is a great thing if you have kids.

'Cause you know how they like to squeeze and roll things.

Then I'm just gonna cut off the end, and it's already squeezed for me.

Then I'm just gonna squeeze it onto my fish, 'cause the breader will adhere to it a little bit better.

If it's wet.

And this'll also give it some good flavors as well.

So, we're gonna take our fish and place it into our bag.

And this is a great quick dinner too.

It's a great quick idea.

And if you have your kids, or if you guys go out fishing, and then they want to have, you know, taste what they caught, this is a great idea.

'Cause it's something that's kid friendly.

Maybe not everybody's children are picky like mine.

But we're gonna shake this to coat it.

And this is another great thing that your kids can do.

'Cause they like to, my kids love to help me cook in the kitchen.

So then we're just gonna place this out, onto our foil lined baking sheet.

And bake this for about 10 minutes at about 450 degrees.

Cooks really fast, and will cook up great.

You'll love it.

And then once you have it baked up.

It's gonna look like this.

Walk over and look at this.

You can put it on a fun plate.

I found these plates the other day.

And I just think they're so fun and kids will love it.

And you can pile up your fish sticks.

Add some broccoli for some good nutrition.

And then maybe a cheese stick, which would be great.

And some strawberries.

And always a good dip sauce, is either a thousand island, ranch, or at my house ketchup.

So I hope you enjoy the lemon fish sticks.

And I'll see you next time, here on Simple Cooking.

- Thanks a lot Donna, that's a recipe that I want to try a little later on.

Joe let's go back up to Jordan Lake.

Phil knows that lake like the back of his hand.

- He does.

He's been up there for years.

He's a professional guide, so you can call him and go out on the lake and catch bass.

I mean, he knows it front and center.

Also fishes Sharon Harris Lake, which is close by.

But again, that was a tough day.

But that showed his expertise, and of course Joey Dorman, he's been with us for years, catching bass.

He know how to catch em and he has a horseshoe.

'Cause he has caught big bass, just about every show we've done.

And they biggest one for this trip was almost seven, well actually between seven and eight pounds, what Phil was guessing.

Quality fish, but Joey knows how to catch 'em too.

Tough day made easier when you have guys that know how to catch fish.

- Well you call it luck, I call it skill meeting opportunity for our buddy Joey.

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.

[light instrumental music] ♪