Angling for a bigger catch - and finding it

Mike Peck always knew there were as many ways to catch largemouth bass as there were places to do so.

But like many anglers, he had a couple of favorite lures that always seemed to do the trick. Why mess with success, he often thought.

Then two things happened. He decided to learn how to catch bigger, and he started working in the fishing department of a local sporting goods store.

So he started trying new things at his favorite fishing hole - a neighborhood pond in the Malibu/Birchwood section of Virginia Beach.

"I've fished that pond since I was in elementary school," said the 27-year-old who is finishing up work for an English degree at Old Dominion. "I've been seeing people fish it different ways and catching fish. It got me thinking.

"I've always used a Gulp nightcrawler and it's always caught fish. So it's hard to change from that."

Peck noticed other fishermen using live baits around the pond. And he watched as others used lures he had seen at work. He asked questions, read fishing magazines and searched the Internet.

"I've been getting more and more into it the last two years... reading and learning and trying different things," he said. "I know that pond and I know where the fish are. So that really helps with trying new things."

The effort has been paying off this year. Peck has caught several bass heavier than 4 pounds and two that met the state's 22-inch award minimum. He estimated one at more than 7 pounds.

"Catching the first trophy-sized fish really got me motivated," he said. "I've caught fish on all kinds of baits now. I'm learning to play with the colors and all the factors that go with that - dirty water or clear water and what works best in each situation."

He fishes with his girlfriend's father and has even gotten his lady of five years - Cindy Weidner - into the sport he loves.

"Last summer she caught her first fish," he said proudly. "That was almost more exciting than catching my own... if you can believe that."

Peck has fished all his life with a group of friends he grew up with.

They have a friend who has a house on Kerr Lake in Clarksville and he has access to several other neighborhood retention ponds.

"I really like the ones in Ocean Lakes," he said. "It seems like more people are catching more big bass out of those places."

Peck doesn't have a boat, so just about all of his fishing is done on shorelines and occasionally on piers when he tries saltwater fishing. Fishing in local neighborhood ponds means he has to either know somebody or get permission.

But while it limits his angling, Peck is not letting it stop him from becoming a better angler.

"When you're fishing you're always learning," Peck said. "There definitely is some pride and satisfaction with figuring out how to catch these bigger fish."

And it's taught him that he wants to catch even bigger fish in the future.

Lee Tolliver, (757) 222-5844, lee.tolliver@pilotonline.com