Dr. Bertrand Nigm Scores Front Cover On SA Bass. Fishing Geumho Lake South Korea
Geumho Lake South Korea: The Story behind the Front Cover
(SA BASS, February 2017)
By Bertrand Ngim, Ph.D. | February 2017
Pic. 1. A big shout out to SA Bass for featuring my story on this month’s front cover (image shot by Mr. Kang Hohyeong).
In this latest instalment, I want to share with you the story behind the front cover of SA Bass February 2017 and what makes South Korea’s Geumho Lake such a unique fishery for bank anglers from a ledge fishing perspective. If you’re planning a bass fishing vacation to the South Jeolla Province in South Korea, I encourage you to check out this awesome fishery with local bass guide Mr. Kang Hohyeong. Details included in the closing section.
From fishing to photography, it took about 2 hours for me to gather all the composing elements of this cover story. It was a clear afternoon and everything went according to plan. The spot where we fished is a community hole that’s located right beside a busy highway on the west side of the lake which is less than a mile away from a sea barrage. We were there to fish a manmade ledge that is literally visible from street level as you drive along the highway and is only accessible on foot.
There is about a mile of prime shoreline cover in that particular area but the access points to most of the high percentage areas could be somewhat hazardous, especially during rush hour when the highway gets busy. To get there, we had to run across four lanes, climb over multiple guardrails and make our way down a steep bank with all our gear!
Pic. 2. We crossed a 4-lane expressway on foot during midday where there is less traffic.
Pic. 3. We headed for a high percentage area on the far side. The deep side of the ledge is about 20 feet from the bank.
For those of you who’ve read the previous instalment, you’ll no doubt recognize some of the background features in some of the images here, especially the steep bank and shoreline vegetation. On a clear day, the shallow side of the ledge which parallels the bank is highly visible. The drop is about 20 feet away and it’s an area where we caught most of our fish. Though we could only attack the ledge from the shallow side, the approach worked out pretty well that day.
Pic. 4. Shore fishing on South Korea’s Geumho Lake is all about catching quality bass.
Pic. 5. I was short on room for swimbaits but Texas-rigged Kut Tail Worm worked extremely well that day nevertheless.
I caught most of my big bass on weightless Texas-rigged 6.5-inch Yamamoto Kut Tail worm tied to a 15lb-test Sunline fluorocarbon line. Though it wasn’t the best bait for ledge fishing, especially when the fish are predominantly set up in deep areas, it enabled me to fish the top of the deep grass patches along the structure more efficiently. Despite the dead slow presentation, hang-ups were minimal as I could keep the bait in the strike zone for longer periods.
Conversely, Mr. Kang was fishing a hydrilla flat barely 50 yards away from me and caught some big bass on soft swimbaits. It’s interesting to note that though we were practically fishing back to back in the same areas, I caught all my fish on the deep side while Kang caught all of his shallow on a completely different presentation. I was fishing dead slow and Kang was fishing his soft swimbaits fast and furious above the hydrilla.
Pic. 6. Mr. Kang fights and controls a big bass on the edge of a rocky shoreline.
Pic. 7. Kang caught all his big bass in shallow hydrilla cover.
Pic. 8. Kang releases a bass on the rocky shoreline of Geumho Lake.
Our fishing schedule was tight that day and though we only had the time to fish a couple of hundred yards of the ledge, we landed some quality fish under 2 those hours. My only regret was not having my swimbait setup with me that day but that’s a story for a future instalment.
Not much is actually known about Geumho Lake outside South Korea. In fact, I’ve never heard of it until I was about to hit the shoreline with Mr. Kang that very day. Geumho Lake holds potential and it’s a place where it’s possible for bank anglers to catch a double figure bass. It’s a predominantly deep lake with a distinct rocky shoreline. Though most lakes in South Korea may lack boat launch facilities, fishing on the bank doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll bound to get shortchanged on quality.
Guided Bass Fishing Trips in South Korea
Mr. Kang Hohyeong is a doctorate graduate student at a university in Yongin City, South Korea. He specializes in outdoor sports and angling sciences. He’s also a semi-professional angling guide and he does bass and multispecies angling trips, both shore and boat fishing. He runs a 17-foot Tracker Pro Team 175 bass boat.
He is also a field-staff for JS Rods and the South Korean distributorship of Huddleston swimbaits and an experienced guide. He speaks fluent Korean and decent English. I encourage you to check out his Facebook profile and get in touch with him for more details about his guided fishing trips in South Korea https://www.facebook.com/hohyeong.kang.