In preparation for an upcoming tournament, I needed to get some much needed time on the water but couldn't venture too far from home due to a sick little one and needing to be close to home in case the wife needed me. So I headed out to a local neighborhood pond to fish like it was a tourney day albeit not on the same type of water. Sometimes, practicing the skills nets you some fish even if that was not your intention or goal for the day. My goal was to limit myself to three presentations and work them. Let me set the scene of this lake for you...... Size - maybe 35 acres total in the shape of a "Y" with the "Y" at the spillway - no boats with motors, electric and paddle only. Depths - deepest spot is only 8' and that is at the spillway, rest of lake averages 4' Surface temps - 83-84 degrees by mid-afternoon Wind - always affects you regardless of which end you fish Composition - man made neighborhood pond with sheer drop offs 12-18" from the bank that fall to 4' pretty quickly. Areas where it is shallow have a mucky bottom from detritis of old leaves, algae snot, old timber, etc. Cover - loads of pads in every nook and cranny, a few laydowns and lots of overhanging brush at the water's edge. Generalities - not the best lake to use open hooks on during the summer and fall (cranks, soft bodied swimjigs, etc). Loads of free floating algae and leaves that snag your hooks on every cast, but you can still use top waters and spinnerbaits or skirted jigs. The banks are loaded with algae snot and the pads are so thick, that casting deep into them is not the best approach either. The best approach is a topwater frog along the pad edges or open casting lanes in the pads and weedless presentations. On this day, I opted for a spinnerbait, a skirted swim jig and a wacky rig. While the wind was blowing, I started with the spinnerbait and swim jig but got no love. Switched over to the wacky rig and it was game on. The best technique on this lake is commonly referred to as skipping. I ended up landing 15 bass in total and really dialed in my skipping technique from distances up to 40' from shore. Now if you have never done this, let me recommend a couple of things.....start with a spinning rod. It will make your time on the water a lot less frustrating. Second, a spinning rod with an extra fast tip really is helpful, because your casting motion is simplified to a simple clockwise (or counter clockwise if you are left handed) wrist turn and release of the line at the right moment to send your soft plastic skipping along the surface. After a few casts into open water, you can quickly learn and feel the right motion and timing of your line release. Need more help than that? Then check out this video montage sample of some of the casts I made this past Friday at this very lake......
......oh wait, I almost got a warning flag. I can't post it here. It has two non-BR sponsor images at the end.
In that case, if you are interested in the video, just send me a PM and I will send the url to you.
