This Morning At "my" Lake

[Josh Smith]

Hi Folks,

 

No, it's not really my lake.  I've come to think of it as being my lake, though, as it's been my sole focus this year.

 

Last night we had a thunderstorm.  In fact, when I got to the small town I pass through to get to this lake, it looked like there may have been a tornado.  The bridge over the Wabash River was covered in branches.  (The Wabash and Salamonie Rivers, though, didn't look like they had risen at all.  This was nice!)

 

This morning pressure was rising.  Sunrise was at 7am or so, so I left to get to the lake at 6:45.

 

I took three rods and no tackle box.  I wanted to try to "shoot and scoot".  My ultralight had a Jelly Worm on it, the 5'6" MH Bill Dance Daiwa Spinnerbait Rod with modified '70s Ambassadeur 5000 had a blue and black swim jig with a rattle chunk of some sort (without the rattle), and the 6'6" M Jupiter rod had a modified '70s 5000c mounted.  The lure was a Zara Spook "Speckled Trout".

 

I was the only one there.  Starting at the boat launch, I tossed the jig out and made it swim.  I felt something hit it, but it was a miss.  I fished in a fan pattern, and when that spot came up again, I got a tap-BOOM as the bass hit the jig.

 

A brief fight later and I was holding a 12" (or so) bass that was hooked perfectly and weighed around 2lbs.

 

I released it and moved.

 

The first thing I did when I moved was to throw out that jig and rip it through some likely-looking bait fish places to stir 'em up.  Sure enough, it worked!  Not as well as a boat, of course, but well enough.

 

I tossed out the Zara Spook, and started the pattern again.  Something splashed by the Spook, and when I got around that way again, a whirlpool opened below the Spook and sucked it in the first twitch after it hit the water.

 

This bass was about the same length as the first, but was chunkier, weighing around 2.5 to 3lbs.

 

Neither were huge, but they were chunkin' up.  I've been watching these bass grow this year and have been studying their habits.  I believe I have them pretty well patterned, though there are still a few things that I'm not sure about.  One gent opined in another thread (where I asked about catching one then moving) that the bass in this lake sound like they're primarily ambush feeders and don't usually school.  I've been testing this opinion and it appears to be correct.

 

Another interesting note is that these bass are relatively short.  I haven't seen any over 12"-14", and only one 14" long, but they are all pretty chunky, even the males.  It seems like compact power rules in this particular lake.

 

I'm still working on the boat and hope to have it out before the snow flies.  There are some spots I'd really like to get to that are only boat-accessible.  So far, I'm catching these only because nobody else seems to target them like I do, or present the lures that I present.  It's a heavily-fished lake, but mostly the folks who fish it use live bait and/or fish at night for catfish. 

 

I fished for panfish in this lake when i was a kid, and Dad targeted the bass with some luck.  Now it's 20 years later and I'm finally enjoying this lake again.  The panfish have either moved on to places unknown (until I find them with the boat!) or have simply been fished out by those needing food, but the bass fishing is better than I ever recall it being.  I'm really enjoying myself!

 

A couple notes:  I didn't bring the tacklebox and it didn't gel in my mind that a Zara Spook might need pliers to remove.  I got lucky in that the bass cooperated.  I swear it knew what I was doing.  Bass are strange fish.

 

I had trouble hooking up with the jig.  I'd trimmed the weed guard when I trimmed the skirt, but I still missed a couple strikes.  I can't remove the weed guard due to weeds and timber.  Is there anything else I can do to improve hookups?

 

Josh

[WIGuide]

Sounds like a good time. For your swim jig you might want to try switching to a different color or a different trailer when that happens. The bass are telling you that it's getting their attention, but they just aren't quite committing. 

 

On a side note, I think you might be overestimating the weights a little on those fish. 

[Weld's Largemouth]

Sounds like fun!!

I do agree though with WIGuide, no 14" largemouth comes close to even 2.5 lbs. my max guess of the weight, without any photos, of a chunky 14" would be at most 1.8 lbs. A 12" bass would probably 1.25 lbs at most. You should buy a scale, they come in handy !!

Also, the hookups with the jig may have been bad because it may be a bit big for these smaller bass

[Choporoz]

Hey guys, he did say they were chunky.  According to:

http://www.bassresource.com/bassfishing/fishcalculator.html

 

That 14 incher would only need a girth of 16" to tip three on a scale 

[flyfisher]

Hey guys, he did say they were chunky.  According to:

http://www.bassresource.com/bassfishing/fishcalculator.html

 

That 14 incher would only need a girth of 16" to tip three on a scale 

yes but a bass that is bigger around than long is not too common in my experience.

 

http://www.in-fisherman.com/bass/largemouth-bass/fish-weight-estimator-largemouth-bass/

[Choporoz]

Sorry....that silly 'Sarcasm Smiley' is never around when you need it

[Josh Smith]

Hello,

 

I have weighed them on a couple different scales I have.

 

After the spawn, the females were coming in at 2lbs and all these critters have grown since, in girth mostly.  It's odd.  Some of these are really short and chunky, not so much as pan fish, but more than I'm used to.

 

I might be underestimating the length a bit, though.  I've caught some keepers (14"+) that I released.  They were bigger around than most 16" bass I've seen.

 

Probably should take pics.  I'm in a hurry to get them back in the water, though.

 

What do you use to measure the girth?  My tapes are all metal and I don't want to touch them too much, anyway.  Infection and all, you know.

 

Regards,

 

Josh

[Josh Smith]

Hello,

 

I have weighed them on a couple different scales I have.

 

 

I just tried that estimator thing using the bass in my avatar.

 

That bass was one of the less-chunky ones.  As it lay there recovering before release, it measured right at 12".  This is with the tail and mouth in the positions you see.

 

I'm getting 3" per side, and estimating the girth at 7" to 8".  The calculator comes back with right around a pound.  The fish weighed 2lbs using two different deliars.

 

If I estimate 13" for a closed mouth and tail, and girth of 7", I get about 1.2lbs.

 

I don't really care what they weigh as they're just really fun.  I'm not after a PB or anything.  I'm just really curious now.

 

Josh

[Weld's Largemouth]

Hello,

I have weighed them on a couple different scales I have.

After the spawn, the females were coming in at 2lbs and all these critters have grown since, in girth mostly. It's odd. Some of these are really short and chunky, not so much as pan fish, but more than I'm used to.

I might be underestimating the length a bit, though. I've caught some keepers (14"+) that I released. They were bigger around than most 16" bass I've seen.

Probably should take pics. I'm in a hurry to get them back in the water, though.

What do you use to measure the girth? My tapes are all metal and I don't want to touch them too much, anyway. Infection and all, you know.

Regards,

Josh

Just use a tape measure

[reb67]

Just use a tape measure

Use a seamstress measuring tape. they are soft and easy to handle and they will not harm the fish.

[Skeeter Dan]

You can buy them at walmart .

Use a seamstress measuring tape. they are soft and easy to handle and they will not harm the fish.

[Josh Smith]

I'll check them out, thank you!

 

I've also gotten a new scale.  These deliars are older than I am, I think.  Could be the springs are a bit weak.

 

I'm more concerned about the fight in the fish than the size of it unless I'm eatin' or competin'.  I did thing the numbers were a little high myself.

 

Josh

[Sam]

That was a "cannonball" of a report from Wabash!!!

Keep up the good work and don't forget those needle nose pliers.

Thanks for sharing.

[Josh Smith]

That was a "cannonball" of a report from Wabash!!!

Keep up the good work and don't forget those needle nose pliers.

Thanks for sharing.

 

Groan...

 

And I forgot the pliers.  I took three poles and left the tackle box.  Almost needed them, too!

 

Josh