I was really hoping to make it over to Waveland today to try and get in on the good prespawn fishing that's been going on over there, but by the time I checked the weather around lunch, we had sustained winds of 20 mph out of the SSE. That's not a good thing for the little aluminum, either the strength or the direction. Waveland sits pretty much north to south, and SSE is about the worst direction for a stiff breeze on the home lake. Still, given blown out and muddy conditions most everywhere, and a strong threat of more rain Sunday, I decided to hit the home lake.
With whitecaps rolling, I launched and got started around 2:00 PM. Air temps climbed into the low 70's today, and water temps hovered right about 60 degrees. The water had a good stain everywhere I went, with best clarity around 12" or so, and many areas not even that. I thought something with some good vibration might garner some bites, so I had the chatterbait tied on, but could only manage 1 fish and a swirl on it.
I also had some shallow cranks that I rotated through, finally finding one that I was able to get quite a few bites on, but it certainly wasn't the best thing going. Drop baits again seemed to rule the day, with a majority of the 52 bass caught today coming on them. Not near as many fish on the main lake, as the fish seem to be stacking up in the coves as the spawn approaches. Too muddy to see if anything is actually on bed yet, though it wouldn't surprise me at all if a few haven't already gone. I know some fish were caught off bed over on Geist today in the Top-8 tourney.
Speaking of, this extra rain must have finally shut down the bite over there. With half the field on Morse and the other half on Geist, I figured the guys on Geist would run the field this first day - wasn't the case though. Only a single sack that reached double digits was weighed today, 12 and change by Danny Wise coming from Geist. That's a major slow down in the bite that everyone has been having over there. A bunch of guys were stacked in the 9+ pound range to round out the top 5 positions after day 1, including P.O. Plugger's (my former club) Jamoni Harper in 2nd off of Morse, and Reggie Gibson right behind him and big bass holder for the day. Jacob sits in 5th at the moment, his day 1 weight coming from Geist, and might actually be leading if not for losing a big fish that somewhat straightened out a hook on him before getting off.
Will be interested to see how everyone fares tomorrow with changing lakes and the all day clouds and rain in the forecast.
Gotta' Like Free - and a Tribute to a Good Friend
In basketball it's your turnover ratio. In football, it's the difference in giveaways and takeaways. I'm not sure what you call it in fishing, but whatever it is, I'm to the good side so far in 2011.
Everything pictured to the left is what I've been able to find out on the water so far this year. Thursday it was the blue/chartreuse Poes 300 out at Waveland (big surprise). At my home reservoir, an almost new Pop-R hanging from a giant tree, and a firetiger 6A Bomber washed up against some riprap.
There's nothing better than finding "free" bass baits out on the water, except then using those free baits to catch bass with, "bonus bass" if you will. With free baits you can fish with reckless abandon - take chances and throw the bait where you might not normally toss one for fear of losing. Since you didn't actually pay for it, it won't actually cost you anything if you hang it up and lose it. I'll be putting some of these to the test a little later this year, and will report back on if they score or not. Kind of reminds me of the free RC 2.5 DD I got some good mileage out of last year.
As for the two bobbers in the picture, a pair of flawless wood flats, one a Thill and the other an Eagle Claw I was able to find. There's a little story behind these. Some of you might recall Mike Lloyd, a local Indy school teacher and bass angler, who passed away many years ago, actually about 8 or 10 years now, I believe. I used to bass fish with Mike occasionally, both for fun and in tourneys, and he had this odd (neat?) little quirk. He really got excited by finding someone's stray bobber floating out on the water, almost like the proverbial kid in the candy store. He'd stop fishing, no matter how big or important the tourney, and wouldn't start back up until he took the time to go collect the bobber he found. Some were in trees, others washed up along the bank, some hidden in logjams. Didn't matter to Mike - where ever he saw them he'd chase them down.
When he passed away, I decided to adopt his little habit as my way of remembering Mike, and to help me keep in mind that it's just fishing, and that there are a lot more important things in life beside catching a bass. So no matter how big the tourney, or who I'm fishing with now days, if I spot a really nice float out on the water, I always make it a point to stop and grab it. And every so often, when the box of floats gets a little full, I'll take them to a fishing event or a local tackle shop and give them away to the kids for free. A nice float costs upward of $1.50 these days, and the last box I delivered had about 70 bobbers I had collected that got handed out. My way of paying it forward, I guess....
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