Since Newman's Bottom has been closed, I've been making the trip across the lake into the Yegua in search of fish. I've only ventured into Nails Creek once before last year, but decided this morning to paddle my way in and explore. It is absolutely stunning. I did run into two Jon boats passing through, but for the most part, the creek was all alone. I don't know the creek well, but tried my hand at crappie fishing. Wasn't too successful, so I switched it up for bass and glad I did!!! Several nice LMB and finished off the mid morning with a nice 5 pounder!!! Short day, but a good day!

Nice post. Thanks for sharing.

The first and second big turns after you reach the fork that goes to the lake hold crappie well in nails.

I've found the crappie scattered all throughout the creek holding tight to brush in the deepest pools (6 to 8 feet) or very nearby those deeper pools. It takes some special tactics to catch crappie in the creek.

Close quarters vertically jig fishing out of the yak is how I do it with good results. I've done this from the bank but not nearly as well as sitting right on top of them in the yak. One thing about crappie you should know is that they do not move off of good structure for no reason. If the water is deep enough and you are quiet you can sit right on top of them especially in Nails creek with it's stained water which is ideal for this type of kayak crappie fishing.

There are probably more crappie up in the Yegua but the water is often so much clearer that the crappie tend to be holding deeper and tighter to structure but easier to spook. A slip cork might work better in the clear water if you can work an area from further away so you don't spook the fish.

LM Bass fishing is good in both creeks right now probably due to high water two years in a row contributing to better growth and survival rates overall. It is going to be great fall/winter fishing up the creeks of Lake Somerville for us kayakers..

Thank you for the tips. I was hoping to make it out again today, but family obligations trump fishing....Maybe tomorrow morning!

J-Moe and I did Birch Creek Saturday. Mouth of the creek is completely blocked by a hundred yards of fallen trees. Had to portage around through the mud and muck. Bass fishing was OK as we both caught fish all the way up the creek. J-Moe worked his way back down at about lunch time but I went further up the creek and fished for another three hours. Found some nice bass in most every deep pool. Not nearly as good fishing as Nails or the Yegua and a lot more work. I enjoy the yakking adventure a little more than J-Moe and his barge-yak I think I portaged 8 times on Birch (4 up and 4 down) . I will probably wait and do Birch Creek again when the next good rise happens and the whitebass and crappie move up.. Hope to do the Yegua soon. We need some cooler weather to get the crappie bunched up in the deep holes..

The 2015 & 2016 floods pretty much removed the namesake trees for Birch Creek anywhere near the lake. The flood also knocked down most every willow tree for the last quarter mile of the creek blocking access to it from the lake. Birch Creek is now only accessible over land which means that any adventurous kayaker willing to fight the yak dragon can have the creek to themselves as we did on a warm Saturday in late October.

Bummer. One less creek to kayak fish after I move back in a few weeks.

nah.. just need a set of wheels for the 400 yard yak dragon to start the adventure..

or when Birch creek opens back up (if it ever does) you can paddle 1.4 miles to reach the same spot as the 400 yard drag..

The first 800 feet of Birch creek is blocked by several downed trees from bank to bank.

Ok, no problem. The first time I went in there 4 years ago, I launched from the main ramp and paddled all the way to the mouth and in. I am not sure if that one boat ramp was there.

That's the birch creek estates boat ramp. It is a public ramp but not many people know how to get to it. When the state park is open I'll park by the restroom in the youpon camping area and drag yak down to the water where it is a straight shot to the mouth of birch creek. Now that I have measured the distance from the park to the creek I can see that dragging my yak to the creek from the estates ramp looks better.

That was some incredible destruction. My son and I yaked Birch several years ago. Heartbreaking to see the devastation.