bp_fowler

Decent year for me. Got a new PB but not by much. Spinnerbait was good to me. Also started to figure out jig fishing later on. New (to me) techniques like floating and swimming worms did very well once the weeds started topping out. Had a memorable trip to McGregor Bay Ontario with my dad and son in August. First time targeting small mouth. It was an absolute blast there. Already planning a return trip next year. Stupid tube was my weapon of choice there with honorable mentions going to the ned and drop shot. Some firsts this year with other species. Hybrid striper, Northern Pike, and saugeye.

Senkos were a staple for me when I was first starting out. I don’t use them all that much anymore. In fact I have several unopened bags just sitting around unused. Another one is the chatterbait. I’ve found that a Spinnerbait works just as good under a wider variety of conditions.

@1984isNOW I don’t how tall you are but I’m pretty sure those boots are at least 14-15” high.

Yeah that’s a whole other thing for sure. Comparing myself to other bank anglers though is somewhat difficult. Mostly because I make a conscious effort to avoid them. 😅

I appreciate the compliment, I really do. Coming from someone who catches 30-40 bass on a slow day that’s high praise. However, I’m still very new at this. I'm sure though that are probably plenty of folks out there in my fair state that would fish circles around me.

Went out today for the last 90 minutes before the sun started setting. I wanted to test out my new Tatula Elite Casting Rod and was hoping to break it in on some strip pit fish. As you can see by the photo today I was throwing a jig. I’ve caught fish on swim jigs and football jigs, but never on a casting/flipping jig. Today was my lucky day as I caught my first ever jig fish, and a decent one at that. I caught it off the end of a laydown. It made a last minute run as it got close enough to shore to see me but I was able to land it. I caught my 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th jig fish shortly after that but only one was picture worthy I felt. I’m pretty stoked that jig fishing has finally clicked for me. I’m confident that given the bodies of water that I fish it will be a very useful technique for me going forward. I think the biggest difference for me today versus all the other times I’ve tried the jig, is casting accuracy and being able to thumb the spool to minimize splash.

Nice Quasimodo bass!

Yes. I’ve fished with monofilament my entire life until the last few years when I started experimenting with Fluorocarbon, copolymer, braid, and braid to leader. I didn’t know what I didn’t know. Apparently neither did the fish I caught. Now I do think that every type of line has its pros and cons. I also think it’s up to the individual angler to decide what works best for them in their own particular situation.

I use the Lazer Trokar Weedless insert tube heads. The 1/8 oz. size fits 2.75 tubes well.

When I first started bass fishing I used the wacky rigged senko a lot. I liked to fish it around isolated shallow cover or skip it under overhanging vegetation. If I was fishing a new body of water it was the first bait I’d throw just to see if there were any fish present. Cast it out, give it a hop or two or three, and reel it back in. Repeat as needed. The Neko for me, was just a wacky rig for deeper water. Both presentations have been pretty much replaced by the Ned rig in my arsenal. It can do everything the others can do in one (smaller and cheaper) package. If I’m concerned about snags I’m not throwing any of the above. The shaky head gets the call there.

Strip pond No. 4 today. Today was a quantity day. 27 to be exact. Was hoping for a few bigger ones but they were MIA. All except three were caught on the double willow War Eagle which I cast into laydowns on the opposite bank, or when I casted along the bank I was on in my direction of travel to “clear” it before I could spook them. The other two fish I caught with a Rapala Husky Jerk out in open water once the pond got too wide for me to hit the opposite bank. The last fish I caught on a white SK heavy cover swim jig with a rage tail. Best five below…

I’m inclined to agree. In my experience the 1/0-1/8oz fits best with 3.3 and the 3/0-3/16 with 3.8 or similar sized paddle tails. The 3/0-3/16 IMO fits best on the Zoom Fluke (5in).

Yesterday I fished the strip pit again. Unfortunately I only caught two smallish fish. So I decided to check out some of the other strip pit ponds in the area, one was tinged yellowish orange and the other was clear but both were devoid of any signs of life. Today I went a little further into the woods to check out another pond that I saw on google earth. Given the length of the hike and the terrain I only brought my ML spinning rod and a fanny pack with some spare ned heads, TRDs, scale, leader material, and hemostats. Long story short, I caught 13 most of which were dinks but also some decent ones pictured below.

Caught 5 today, mostly this size. All of them with a white War Eagle double willow. Right in front of a beaver lodge at the strip pit. Also caught this PB Crappie in the same spot.

It’s been happening a lot to me lately as well. Things have started to pick up a bit this last week but, it’s been dink city mostly.

Day 2 exploring the strip pit pond. Started out throwing the Ned and the floating worm. They wanted the floating worm, and a caught a quick pair of fish hiding under the duck weed. I moved down the bank but was unable to get anymore bites on the end where the terrain was flat and level. I got back on the old dirt road that paralleled the bank and found a spot where I could make my way down to the water’s edge if I was careful. After getting settled in I noticed the water was a bit deeper here so I tied on my mayor and proceeded to catch another 4 fish all about this size. I had another fish hit my mayor but he was too big for my M/F and buried himself in a lay down and broke me off before I could horse him in. I still had my ML rod with Ned tied on so I started throwing that and my and hooked another big one on my first cast. Of course this one made a beeline for the lay down on my other side. I thought if I shook the branches it may spook it and cause it to run out on its own. To my surprise the lay down wasn’t very heavy (it was more like a big branch) and I was able to move it out of the way while simultaneously manipulating my rod to untangle my line and land it. After the protracted struggle I decided just to get the pic and throw it back. So I’m not sure about the weight. After that I added another smaller fish to the day’s tally and headed home since I was being dive bombed by a cloud of mosquitoes.

I think that’s a preference thing. I’m also a Spinnerbait aficionado and I have fished them using all three at one point or another. I can say that using straight braid I had to change my hook set from a swing for the fences type to more of a sweeping/reeling style.

Fished the municipal pond today. Caught a handful of dinks on the drop shot. While I was there I met a gentleman who told me about a strip pit near by. I decided to check it out. When I got here it wa shallow and weedy, just like I like it. I deployed the floating worm and caught a quick couple fish before I ran out of time. Bigger than the ones at the municipal park but not impressive by any means. Hoping I can explore this place more thoroughly soon.

Got some intel on a couple new spots…rumor has it they both are filthy with bass. First up is a creek that connects two man made lakes that I have fished previously. However I’ve never tried to fish the creek until now. Caught three small ones with the below fish being the largest. Next day I tried the other spot which is a reservoir. I had high hopes seeing as how it was off the beaten path. While the rumors were true that it was filled with bass but unfortunately they were all this size A little frustrated with the lack of quality I returned to the New Reservoir where I did slightly better from a size perspective and a lot better numbers wise.

The struggles continue here. I’ve pretty much been camping out at the crappie hole since I can’t catch numbers anywhere I figure I might as well go for the big ones. Unfortunately the big ones did not cooperate today. After two big hits on the Mayor, but nothing to show for it, I switched to the Ned hoping to avoid the skunk. It worked but I all I caught were dinks with the below fish being the largest.

The fishing has not been kind to me of late. After our heat wave we had a few nights that got down into the 40s. Couple that with sun and clear skies it’s been tough. Last 3 days I’ve returned to wade the tail waters of Dillon lake on to find the water level had dropped there as well. Three days of grinding produced a dink LMB along with a dink channel cat. Today cloudy weather was forecasted but after waiting until 3PM I was getting antsy so I decided to just go conditions be damned. Since I didn’t have a ton of time I went to the crappie hole which is the closest to me. I started out drop shotting around the dock the houses the spillway riser, but no takers there. I moved to the other end to fish the shallow flat where I caught my PB in July. I was working my shaky head along the bottom and got a hit but when I went to set the hook my line broke at the leader knot. I shrugged it off and figured I must has tied it wrong since it was kinda a rush job. I retied it, being a little more thorough this time. I was out of shaky heads but I had a single solitary tube left over from my Canada trip so I tied that on and got back to fishing. I worked the tube across the flat a couple times and caught the nicest LMB since this summer. Unfortunately after releasing it I spotted another even bigger fish floating out in the middle. My stomach dropped thinking this may have been the one that broke me off earlier. It was too far out for me to reach it. In my defense there were a couple guys fish in my that area when I pulled up, and I didn’t see ten feet of leader line dangling from its mouth. Either way my heart wasn’t in it anymore and I decided to pack it in and head home. When I looked out the fish was no longer there so I guess there’s a small chance it’s okay, at least that’s what I’m telling myself.

The only places I’ve been able to fish lately are the ACE reservoirs (Dillion and Burr Oak). They are only ones that aren’t 3-4 feet below pool like the local reservoirs closer to me that are maintained by the state or local municipalities.

I had one, fished it a lot, and caught tons of fish with it. Considering the price it’s one of my favorite rods. I did eventually break it but that was due to my own clumsiness rather than a defect with the rod.

Oh yeah, it fought like hell. Now that I know that there 3 species of bass in that stretch of river my goal is to catch the trifecta in one outing.

Finally back out on the water today. We had a bit of a heat wave here since I’ve been back from Ontario so I haven’t been too keen on going out. Went to the Licking River just below the Dillon dam. Last time I was there my son and I witnessed quite a few good sized smallies jumping, but unfortunately we were skunked. This time I made way out onto a gravel bar and fished around it and the various currant breaks and eddies. The first hour of so I couldn’t get bit but of course my luck changed the last 30 minutes. No smallies but managed two largemouth and one hybrid striper, my first ever of that species.