This is part two of one of the most revealing bass fishing articles we have ever seen. In case you missed it, you can read part one here on our site at www.backwoodsbound.com/zznewv05i06.html .

 Lloyd's Creek

 This is the most productive spring spot on the Sassafras River, and in our opinion, on the entire Upper Chesapeake Bay. While largemouth bass spawn in several creeks along the river, the majority of them choose Lloyd's Creek. While there is a very strong current at the entrance to Lloyd's Creek, the rest of it has very little movement.

 The shoreline, for the most part, is very shallow in Lloyd's, but offers some mid depths to 6 feet just off shore. The entire creek is loaded with cover. This includes laydowns, logjams, and a variety of grasses, and an old barge. The barge, grasses, and seawalls in Lloyd's are the most productive areas. The bass love to hold on these pieces of cover, and when combined with the hard sand bottom and rocks, it makes for an ideal habitat for a tidal spawning ground.

 Besides the ideal cover, bottom composition, and sun exposure, Lloyd's offers something else that makes it an ideal spawning ground for tidal bass. It has a clear and defined channel leading into the creek, and into all points along the shoreline. This provides a virtual "Freeway" for the bass to follow. This makes the job of targeting these bass under changing water conditions and seasons fairly simple. I believe that this is the reason that not only huge numbers of bass in the Sassafras come here, but I believe they come from other nearby rivers as well, and possibly even from farther away.

 In the early spring, bass will begin to stack up at the entrance to Lloyd's Creek in amazing numbers. The water is fast here, and goes from sixteen feet in the main channel, to as shallow as one foot on the shore. This steep drop-off runs from about three hundred yards from the entrance in the fast moving water, to about fifty yards into the creek, and stops at a large dock. The whole shore on this side is loaded with old trees, brush, and rocks. On the opposite side a huge peninsula comes across forming a perfect sand point twenty yards from the steep shore. That twenty yard space Is the entrance to Lloyd's Creek. This is why the current rips through this area at an unbelievable pace. Even a trolling motor of 24 volts, can barely hold position on its highest setting in this area. The bass congregate all around this sand point and the adjoining areas. The best baits for this area are Rat-L-Traps in blue/chrome, in 3/8 and 1/2 ounce sizes, Terminator and Zap spinner baits in 1/2 ounce, with tandem and/or willow leaf blades, and small crankbaits. About ten yards from the tip of the point, the current swirls to form a large eddy. Many times fifteen to twenty bass in the one and one half to three pound range can be caught on successive casts to this eddy. The other tactic is to cast your bait right up on the sand point, and then pull it into the fast moving water, and the bass just slam the bait as it enters, many times on every other cast for an hour or more. On the opposite shore, the bass bunch up on the wood, as it is the only thing blocking the current. At slack tides these bass will slam the same reaction baits as on the point, however, when the current is swift here, the best thing to do is flip heavier jigs and plastics into the wood. The reason we like the "Terminator" jigs for this and other types of cover, is the eye is recessed into the head, preventing the jig from becoming snagged at least 75 percent less than other jigs. With the nasty cover in this area it is a necessity.

 When this area starts to become pressured by other anglers, we have switched to an "IKA" tube, with a 3/8 ounce Tungsten weight, with great success. We flip these baits to the up current side of cover and let the tide wash the bait past the object. Most strikes come as soon as the bait washes past where the bass are holding. Watching your line is a must here, as the current makes most strikes difficult, if not impossible to detect. The only plus side to this is that because of the amount of energy these bass have to expend to fight the current, they almost never miss the bait once they commit. Heavy line with high abrasion qualities is a must here. We use twenty-five to thirty pound test line here, and still break off the occasional fish. When tournament fishing in this area, we retie after every fish.

 The next spot is the dock where the river channel stops and makes a sharp right turn towards the back of the creek. The best areas of the dock are the first three pilings from the rocks out. Jigs, tubes, and weighted plastics take numerous bass in the two to five pound range from here.

 These three spots form the ultimate staging area. More bass will move into this spot almost as fast as you can catch them at times. These bass are also extremely aggressive. The best tip for this area is to get there early in the year. You will not only avoid the crowds, but encounter some of the larger pre-spawn females. You don't catch as many bass very early in the year, but you can expect ten to fifteen bass in the three to five pound range at this time.

 When the spring is in full swing, the bass will follow the creek channel to the barges, pilings, and laydowns in the back of the creek. This is when large numbers of one to three pound males make their way to the staging areas. There is a two to three week period when these bass will attack almost anything that hits the water. This is when it is wise to stop at the entrance for a quick ten pound limit, and then move back to the sunken barge for the larger females. Weightless Senko's, Bearpaws, and IKA tubes with a pegged weight, produce heavyweight females when pitched to the grassy edges of the barge. A quickly retrieved spinnerbait is needed at times to pick the males off the edges of the barge before going after the larger females with plastics. Laydowns will also produce just as well as sections of the sand bar now. Slow down and cover the whole area to be rewarded with a huge sack of bass.

 When the spawn has run its course, just follow the same creek channel back out to the same areas where the fish staged in pre-spawn. Similar to early in the year, the larger fish will be the first back out also. This is plastics time! The fish are fairly sluggish now, so a little more finesse is required. They want an easy meal, and soft plastics like these fit the bill!

 As the smaller bass make their way out to the mouth of Lloyd's, you will see bass hitting the spinnerbaits and crankbaits again. While the following migration routes to success can be simple, there are a few tricks that can help you upgrade your limit. In the middle of the spawn, anglers will crowd around the hot spots we have mentioned. Some of these anglers will be targeting the shallow fish spawning, and others will be pounding the pre or post spawn bass at the current washed mouth of Lloyd's Creek. At this time, we use our depth finder to locate and follow the creek channel from the staging area back towards the spawning area, looking for bends, humps, and even weedlines that run on the edge of the channel. Sometimes we mark fish on the locator, but the structure is all we are really looking for.

 We drop the trolling motor and begin dragging a Carolina rig with a French Fry worm or another type of Bearpaws plastic bait, and even crank the edge of this structure with a Bandit crankbait. It doesn't always produce, but at times you can really load up on these migrating bass, and have the area relatively to yourself.

 The second trick we use at the very end of the spawn here is that we turn on the electronics and find the first major piece of structure large enough to hold bass and baitfish that have left the creek. The key word is close. We stay within one half mile to a mile of the major spawning area when looking for these spots. The key spots will have grass and offer deep water escape routes nearby. We use buzzbaits, spinnerbaits, and plastics on these fish.

 These fish are always quality fish. You may only get five bites a day doing this, but more times than we can count, this technique has produced eighteen to twenty pound limits from five fish.

 * Look for part three in next month's issue of The Bullet. Be sure to visit Steve and Kurt vonBrandt on their web site at http://www.skguideservice.com .

  I can't help but feel a certain amount of awe, fear, and pity whenever I hear someone announce, "I got chiggers!". Chigger bites are about as irritating as poison ivy, except chiggers target those sensitive, private areas, whereas poison ivy usually effects exposed areas. It's particularly annoying that they choose to feast under the elastic of undergarments. Socks are easy to leave off in summer, but going commando's a different story. And so, the maddening itch of the bites combined with the moisture that accumulates under elastic bands on clothing makes for rather distracted work days!

  Believe it or not, chiggers are actually larvae of the harvest mite, Trombicula Alfreddugesi, and are related to ticks and spiders. The adults have eight legs, are bright red, and may be seen crawling over the soil surface when spading the garden on warm spring days. They appear as small velvety red spiders and smear red when crushed. They feed on insect eggs, small insects and other organisms found on or near decaying wood. Although the adults are not a threat to us, they lay as many as 400 eggs in a single group in moist, well-drained areas. Upon hatching, the flesh-hungry larvae crawl onto nearby vegetation to await passing prey. Although some believe a single chigger will bite multiple times, the numerous bites are actually caused by the vast number of chiggers from one hatching that were lying in wait on the same leaf.

  Chiggers are active from spring to late fall and are most abundant in shaded niches near the tips of grass leaves, weeds, sticks and other objects close to the ground. They can detect movement and sense the approach of prey. Upon contact, they quickly crawl aboard and begin searching for a preferred feeding site. They prefer the safety of confining spaces such as under socks, belts, and elastic bands of underwear, but have been known to feed behind the knees and in the armpits. Since they may search several hours for a feeding site, you may want to consider showering immediately after possible exposure to eliminate or reduce the presence of these little parasites before they can feed. Wash all clothing as soon as possible to kill any chiggers that have not begun to feed.

  Another common belief is that the chigger burrows into our flesh. The chigger feeds on the surface by piercing our skin, usually around a hair follicle or pore, and injecting digestive fluid that liquefies our skin cells. Our body reacts to this intrusion by swelling around the bite. You'll notice a characteristic red welt with a white, hard central area. Sometimes you can see the tiny red chigger in the center, but usually it is camouflaged by the swelling of the surrounding cells. Although swelling starts immediately, there is little itching at first. This delayed effect allows the chigger time to feed undisturbed and also gives other intruding larvae time to begin their feeding.

  The larvae gorge themselves on our liquefied flesh. This may take hours to several days. When feeding is complete, they drop off, burrow into the ground, and develop to the nymph stage. Like adult mites, nymphs do not feed on animal flesh, but on other insects and organic material.

  The itch of a chigger bite seems to develop only after the chigger drops off. Perhaps these little parasites add a chemical to prevent the itch until they are done feeding and have escaped to safety. Since many people don't notice the bites until the itch begins and the chigger has dropped off, it is thought unnecessary to attempt to kill a chigger. However, if you do find the bites early and want to try to interrupt the feeding, here are some methods you may use to try to kill the larvae. The most popular methods involve asphyxiation or smothering the chigger. A dot of clear nail polish applied to the center of the welt is one of the most popular means, however this may be irritating to already inflamed skin. Mineral oil or Vaseline applied to the welt can also block the airway without causing irritation. Some use a drop of antiseptic to kill the chigger.

  Once the itch hits you'll probably need some relief depending on the number of bites you have. Warm, soaking baths followed by applications of over-the-counter itch cream can provide some relief. In severe cases, Benadryl or its generic, Diphenhydramine, may be taken orally to help relieve the maddening itch and promote rest. This is also available over-the-counter and should be taken according to package directions.

  A severe case of chigger bites may last 2-3 weeks. So, as usual, prevention is the best medicine. Consider using an appropriate insect repellent, especially around your feet and ankles. Walk in the middle of paths, if available, to prevent brushing up against foliage. Consider wearing light clothes as chiggers are attracted to dark colors. Choose a sitting spot carefully. A dry, sunny spot will be less likely to have chiggers than a shaded area. Swim, spray off, or shower as soon as possible after potential exposure to wash off any roaming larvae. Bag up potentially infested clothes and wash as soon as possible. Inspect your skin carefully, checking for welts (while you check for ticks), since itching does not occur immediately. The sooner you find the bites, the quicker you can intervene and thus minimize the effects of the attack.

  Chiggers may be pesky, but by planning ahead and intervening early we can minimize the amount of aggravation they inflict on us. They are just one more thing to deal with as we continue to enjoy the outdoors. Until next time...Maggie B.

  * This article first appeared in the August 2001 issue of The Bullet. We decided to run it again for the benefit of all of our new subscribers since then and because it is chigger time again.

Answer To Bonus Question: The first American to orbit the Earth was John Glenn in 1962. He never flew in space again until he flew aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery on October 29, 1998.