Casey Reed Finishes Third At Shearon Harris
By: Casey Reed, Old Town Pro Staff
On June 9th, the Kayak Bass Fishing Trail event hosted by the Carolina Kayak Anglers was held at Shearon Harris Reservoir just outside Durham, North Carolina. Shearon Harris is ranked #4 in the Nation by Bassmaster Magazine for 2018. In 2017, this lake came up on my radar because of the number of 8-10 pound largemouth that were being caught out of it. It has been on my list of lakes to visit since.
My time on the lake started the weekend before the tournament. I was able to make it down for about 5 hours of pre fishing. I started out by pedaling around, scanning points and looking for brush piles with my Humminbird Helix 10 Mega SI. I found a few brush piles but couldn’t get a bite. I found some submerged trees off the bank about 50 feet, in 10 to 15 feet of water and I finally caught one fish about 16 inches long. Definitely not one of the big bass that the lake is known for, but hopefully it was the start of a pattern. Minutes later, the sky started getting dark, and the wind really picked up. Looking at the radar, I realized a big storm was coming through, and I got off the water quickly. Luckily, I was loaded up and driving home as the storm hit. Without more than a little clue as to what the fish were be doing, I was not very confident going into the tournament the following weekend.
Throughout the week, I kept hearing a lot of “dock talk” from locals about how tough the lake had been fishing. That's what I had experienced in my little time on the water, but in the back of my mind I was hoping they just didn't want to spill the beans on what was really happening on the lake before the tournament.
So on tournament day, I was going to pedal to my starting spot that I had picked out on the maps but hadn't seen in person. On the way, I saw a lot of shad activity, and heard a couple of fish bust. I had a spook ready for the fish that were busting. After working the spook in between two points for about an hour with no luck, I headed to the second point, and threw a shakey head with a Zoom Shakey Head worm. When the bite is tough, I can usually get out the finesse gear, and get some bites. Within the first few casts on this point, I had a bite. I set the hook, and drag started stripping. A largemouth that I would estimate around 8 pounds came flying out of the water, and just like a movie in slow motion, I saw my hook flying out of his mouth. I was shaken up a bit. It’s never fun to lose a big fish like that, and especially when money is on the line. I knew I just had to keep grinding.
Within the next hour, I boated two fish, 16.75" and 18.25". And shortly after that, I set the hook on a 22.5" 7 pound largemouth. All 4 bites came on the same point, using the same Green Pumpkin shakey head worm. With 3 fish of a 5 fish limit on the board, I was sitting in 1st place. It’s unusual that about 4 hours into a tournament, 3 fish would be in the lead. Either people weren't submitting fish, or it was a really tough day.
After a couple hours and no bite, I decided to make a move. I was reluctant, as I didn’t want someone to be on my spot when I returned. But I figured I could let that spot rest and worked on filling my limit at other spots.
After completing a big circle and no bites, I headed across the lake toward my original point. As I got closer I saw 4 kayaks stacked up there. Not letting it get to me mentally, I just fished around nearby and the other kayak anglers left shortly after. I moved back and made a few casts, but I figured the spot needed some time to rest before I could get another bite, so I fished down the bank and hoped no one else would move in. Still no bites.
Now that the boat traffic has picked up on the lake, and the fishing was really tough, I decided to downsize on my presentation in hopes of getting another bite. I grabbed a new worm out of the bag and pinched off about 2 inches of the head of the worm and spun it on the screw lock and rigged it on the hook. With the time winding down, I pulled up the TourneyX app and looked at the standings. I quickly headed back to the spot where I had caught all of my fish and started making casts. I felt a bite and it felt big. I set the hook 4 times. I didn't want this fish to come off. Finally, a big “Shearon Harris” size bass breached the water and my heart started pumping. It then peeled drag off my reel and jumped clear out of the water two more times. I finally tired the fish out enough and got it close enough to scoop the fish in my net. After picturing the fish for the tournament, I got a weight on this fish. It weighed right at 8 pounds and was 23.5 inches long.
4 fish was all I could manage that day. On such a tough day, when only one of the 53 anglers had a 5 fish limit posted, 4 fish was enough to capture 3rd place, and I was able to cash a check for just over $400.
Downsizing my lure presentation is what I believe was the key to catching that 4th fish after I had fished that spot most of the day. When the fishing is tough, and with a lot of boat traffic, and pressure from other anglers, downsizing is usually the first thing I try and this time it was successful.
If the big fish I saw that day is what you catch on a tough day, I'd love to see what a good day of fishing is like there. If you ever get a chance to fish Shearon Harris Lake right outside of Durham, NC, I highly recommend it. It's a beautiful place and is loaded with big bass.
