As spring approaches, local fishermen are gearing up for a promising season.
With spring just around the corner, advice from Knox Marine’s Mike Abbott will surely help many local anglers make the most of the season. At just 19 years old, Abbott’s love for fishing runs deep.
“I try to fish as much as I can,” Abbott told the Mount Vernon News.
Fishing remains one of his favorite pastimes despite his busy schedule as a mechanic at Knox Marine, where he spends much of his workdays troubleshooting and fixing outboard motors.
“I’ve been fishing since I was born,” he said. “There are photos of me holding a fishing rod since before I can remember.”
For spring fishing Abbott compared fish to humans in their behavior.
“In the spring, the fish are a lot like humans – they're not moving,” he said. “When it's cold out, you don’t want to move too fast. So that’s the biggest thing. You just got to keep telling yourself, as you know, it’s cold, these fish are, and we don’t move very much because in the cold, I don’t want to move too much.”
Abbott expects the early spring fishing season to be productive, particularly for crappie and bluegill.
“A lot of crappie, a lot of bluegill, some bass,” Abbott said. “Bass are a little bit later after the crappie, but okay. Yep, a lot of times I start out with crappie fish.”
When it comes to bait, Abbott is straightforward in his recommendations.
“For crappie, just a little inch crappie tube, and then for bluegill, just your typical wax worm,” he said. “For bass, I generally go to like a crank bait, like a medium diving crank bait where I can reel it slow and keep it down.”
For anglers looking for the right gear, Abbott recommends using specific rods for different types of fish.
“For bass on that crankbait, I’m going to be throwing a seven-foot medium fast action something because that bite is going to be real light – something with a fast tip so I can feel the bite,” Abbott said. “And then, for crappie, just your typical seven-foot spinning rod ultralight.”
For those planning to cast their lines, Abbott suggests checking out some local hot spots.
“I do a little bit out here and go to Alum Creek, and some Pleasant Hill can be really good, but that's a little bit later in the spring,” he said.
Abbott highlighted the diversity of fish in local waters.
“Alum and Pleasant Hill and Knox, out here, there’s tons of varieties,” he said. “You’ve got perch that were just stocked in here last year. You’ve got largemouth bass, you’ve got crappie, a big crappie population, a lot of bluegill. And that’s pretty much the same everywhere you go.”
Abbott's approach to the sport has clearly paid off, as evidenced by his first-place finish in last fall's Mega Bass tournament at Alum Creek.
