Big Indiana Bass

> Jig gear: 6'10" med-heavy action AllStar SJ2, Shimano Castaic casting reel, 17-pound Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon line, Eakin's 3/8-ounce jig (PB&J), Prowler Junior Pro Craw Chunk trailer (red shad).

> Frog gear: 6'10" medium-heavy action AllStar rod, Team Daiwa casting reel, 65-pound Power Pro line, Spro Bronzeye Frog Jr. (rainforest yellow).

Got out Sunday afternoon on a cloudy, cool day. The conditions kept a lot of the pleasure boaters off the water. As I mentioned in the Eagle Creek post, water temps are starting to cool off from this cool weather and the rain, at least on the surface. With just a slight breeze, I decided to have some fun and chunk topwaters for the two hours I was out there. I cranked the trolling motor up to '4', tied on a buzzbait and started covering water.

I wasn't sure if the frontal conditions would hurt the topwater bite, but it wasn't too terrible. This bite should get better as the surface temps start cooling next month. I also caught some good fish on frogs. The buzzer in the pic is one I've mentioned before called the Chatterbuzz. They used to be made in Evansville, Indiana by R&S baits. I believe they were bought out some years back, but R&S is still the parent company as best I can tell from a recent BassFan posting. I've been fishing with them for a long time now, first getting introduced to them down on the Ohio River. I found this neat little story online about them:

Buzz and his bait

Got some chasing done early in the day Saturday and decided to make a run out to Eagle Creek Reservoir. I haven't been there in a few months, and those early trips were just for crappie fishing. This time I left the crappie gear at home and just brought the bass stuff. I met up with Bryan Johnson, my old EC tourney partner and we pretty much ran a good bunch of the lake just for old times sake to see what has changed.

We started well upriver and quickly found out that some areas have really silted in. Used to be able to run wide open up there but you really have to be careful now with lots of washed in logs and newly created sandbars. Additionally, they are doing some major bridge repair work and have almost completely blocked off the upper end of the river with the remnants of the old road now sunk into the river. Pretty skinny up that way and dangerous.

Still, we managed to catch several fish up there including a couple keepers. Jigs and tubes seemed to be best up in the skinny water. We continued working our way down lake, hitting some old stretches and remarking about what had or hadn't changed, and where we used to whack the fish. As we worked our way further toward the dam, the water continued to get clearer, to the point where we started throwing some topwaters. We caught more fish on Spooks and buzzbaits, and then added shallow cranks to the mix on some of the windy stretches. Water temps were running right around 77 degrees, and clarity was fishable everywhere we went, especially on the lower end of the lake.

We finally called it a day when the sun set below the horizon and darkness fell upon the water. By then we had caught about a dozen or so bass, including a few nice chunks, vowing to return again soon.

I was able to get out for a couple hours after work Thursday, and the bite turned out to be pretty good. It kind of reminded me of the 'Wide Open Jig Bite' I mentioned a few weeks back, just with slightly fewer numbers but at least as good or better quality. One of the big deals with science experiments is to keep everything the same when comparing reps or treatments except a single variable. That way if you notice a significant difference, you can likely attribute it to the change variable, either positively or negatively.

To that degree, I was on the same lake, using the same outfit with the same line, the same weight and brand of jig, the same trailer, even fishing much the same water as last time. But, of course, there were differences. A different day (over 3 weeks later), a different color of jig, this time with rattles added, and very similar but not exactly the same weather conditions (see pic below). So you can't really make a valid comparison. It's what makes fishing so interesting, yet so frustrating at times. You try and match past success under similar conditions - sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

So it comes down to a matter of individual belief and preferences. Are you a note-taking, pattern fishing kind of guy, or a 'fishing in the moment' current conditions type - or perhaps a mix of both?