I’d like to say 5 lbs.  but, I just took the picture and let her go asap as she was loaded with eggs and I do want her genes in the pond.  She went for the same Yum stick bait that I caught the 12 1/2 “  crappie on, shown in picture, just letting it drift with intermittent twitches.  They both hit while the bait was at rest. 

The temperature was 62 and the water temp was about 50 degrees F.  A bright sunny day.  I caught a few small bass as well, mostly 1 to 2 lbs.  I was only out for an hour and a half because on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, I pick up my little grand daughter at the buss stop.  She’s my little “fishergirl”.  We’ll start going fishing together after school lets out.

I bought a new Motor Guide foot controlled trolling motor to help me with boat control this year.  The motor is different to control than a hand controlled motor to say the least.  It’s going to be a challenge  but, fun.  I took it out on the pond today on my two man pond bass tracker to see how it works and to try to master going out on one of the bigger lakes.  At first the motor got the best of me as I was over reacting the steering  while in the high speed mode as I headed to the area where I caught my first bass two weeks ago.  I ended up slowing down to the # 2 position of the 5 speeds that it has.  Things got better but I was still overacting.  After a while I got the hang of it  but, I still need to practice a lot more before I can master it to be sure.  The big problem was trying to beach the boat on shore.  Trying to move the boat forward fast enough to get the front of the boat on shore and steering it precisely, this I found not doable.  I ended up pushing the boat to shore using my long handled net.  I will try again but I’ll bring a long pole with me just in case.  The landing area is not much wider that the width of the boat so, there’s no room to spare.

I finally got to my destination and tried to catch bass in the same area where I got the 6 lb  bass two weeks ago.  Not a single strike.  I was using six rods, each with a different bait, A Blue Fox spinner, Shaws paddle worm, a Culprit worm in an effervescent brown/orange color,  a Rapala floating 3/16 oz  jerk bait silver/black, a new Zman craw dad in black w/red craws,  and a Yum white shad Coffee. 

Not a single strike.  So, I move to the other end of the lake and caught the bass shown, nice size but not nearly as big than the one I caught  two weeks ago.  And, again this was my only strike of the day.  I’ll admit that I only fished for about an hour but my expectations were higher.

I caught it on the Culprit worm moving it very slowly across the bottom rigged  on a red headed jig.

At last we had a day where I could go out and try out my new fishing outfit.  My daughter, Theresa, had asked me what I wanted for my birthday last November.  I told her that while looking through the Bass Pro and Cabela’s  catalogs, I saw what I thought would be a very good spinning outfit but one that I really shouldn’t indulge in; a little over my usual budget for fishing gear.  Most of my  reels are Abu-Garcia or Mitchell,  and, I have an assortment of rods, Berkley, St Croix, Bass, Field and Stream, Diawa, Shakesphere and a few other brands, but the new Abu-Garcia Veritas caught my eye as did the new Abu-Garcia Soron spinning reel.  Some of these outfits  are over 50 years old, but, taking care of them all these years keeps them fishable.

Well, my daughter, Theresa, got me the outfit but , with the stipulation that it was for my birthday and Christmas.  Now getting back to my story.

It was about 52 degrees and overcast with a strong wind from the South at about 25-30 mph.  I had to  cast into the wind or perpendicular to it.  I put on a 3 1/2 “ money minnow, shad color,  with a 1/8oz weighted  Gamatzu minnow hook.  On the second cast I hooked onto a really nice largemouth bass, and, you might know it, I didn’t bring my camera along or my  measuring stick.  But I know that the bass was at least 6 or 6 1/2 lbs., a real beauty.

I thought about tying him up while I went for my camera, but , decided not to for the fishes sake.  So, I let him go.  The genes in that fish will help keep the pond supplied with excellent offspring.  The new outfit handled that fish exceptionally well, I am very pleased with it, it’s the best spinning outfit that I’ve ever owned.  I know that there are many more  outfits that can cost up to ten times as much, but I’ll stick with things that are affordable, after all, I’m not the with the congress or using White House arithmetic.  Even though my daughter was paying for the outfit, I knew where to draw the line.

I had loaded the spool with PLine, 8 lb. test.  The rod action is fast tip medium action ad the # 240 Soron reel.  I cast for another 1/2 hour with only one small tap.  I tried a crawdad on another rod and a spinner on a third rod with no results.

Tight lines

Jim

I  thought some people might be interested in how important you, retired guys, like me, are important to our kids and grandkids who have served in the military.  I retired from the U.S. Air Force in 1974 after serving a little over 20 years.  I have fished in several places in Asia and in Europe during my tours of duty but always longed to get back home to the good old U.S.A. to fish with my children and friends and now my grandkids.

My grand daughter, Evie , asked me to attend the Veterans Day celebration at her school this year, she is in second grade, and as you know from past writings, she’s my little ‘fisher girl” . 

Well, the program was very successful this year with 30 veterans showing up, both moms, dads, friends, and grand dads.  Twice as many veterans attended  than at last years event.  Some were active duty.

The kids sang “America the Beautiful” and recited the “Pledge of Allegiance”.  Then each child who had a veteran relative or friend in attendance was asked to identify themselves and had each veteran to do the same.  How very proud the children were who had someone participating in attendance;  it was very heart warming.

Another thing that I would like to say is that, if you know a child, related or not,  and that you personally know, he  or she wants to go fishing…TAKE THEM!  You’ll never regret it, and if you’re like me, a dedicated fisherman, It will bring joy to your heart to see the kid catch fish, its pure delight.   Especially you old timers with nothing to do… go fishing!

You don’t need any fancy equipment to enjoy it, but if you get hooked like I did when my uncles took me fishing when I was a 1st grader, you will be much happier and ,maybe will want to upgrade as you go.  I’ve been going fishing for more than 66 years and I still can’t get enough of it.

Oh, and by the way, I hadn’t had my uniform on in 36 years, AND IT STILL FIT!  Fishing helps keep you on the go and fit.

Evie decided to ask grandpa, me, to take her and her dad fishing in the river behind our house.  Last week Evie and I went and she really enjoyed catching the drum and suckers.  We were hoping to catch some catfish or bass but they were not cooperating that day.  The top picture, left, shows Evie with a small drum and ,as you can see, she’s not afraid to hold the fish and she really enjoys letting them go.  Good “catch and release” fishergirl.  The picture on the top right shows her way of waiting for a bite, “Hey dad wake me when I get a bite, O.K.?”  And, sure enough, picture on lower left, shows her playing another fish with dad coming to help if necessary.  I wasn’t necessary but Dad helped her get the fish off the hook.  All in all, she caught 3 drum,1 bluegill, and 2 suckers.  Dad’s catch = 0.  Now who’s the real fisher person here?  Grandpa, who was taking the pictures, managed to catch a sucker and two drum.  Actually Dad was more interested in ensuring that Evie caught some fish so , we can’t hold that against him.  Good job Dad!

After fishing Evie decided to show her dad the progress she has made in learning to shoot pool.  I have a pool table in my downstairs den.  Her dad gave her a few more tips on how to line up her shots and she is improving. 

They had a lot of fun together.

As far as fishing in the pond, the fish are not cooperating.  Twice I’ve been out for about three hours and came up with only a single small bass each time.  The lake is much more shallow due to the drought and the fish are apparently not in the mood for feeding.  There goes the theory, “Fishing is best in the fall when they fatten up before winter”.  Except for the shallow water, I can’t think of any other reason that they’re not hitting except maybe, I’m not doing it right.  Or, maybe it’s the high pressure and the erratic changes in the temperature.  It’s been far too cold for me to go out this last week, hopefully we’ll have a few more warmer days before  I put my gear away for the winter.   Tight LInes

Jim

The fishing has picked up  at River Bend.  The bass (second down) I caught in the pond and again the only bites I got were on the Blue Fox  spinner along with the cats.  The lake committee decided to turn off the well on the pond and the water in now only about 3-4 feet deep…not good.  As a result the fish on the pond are not cooperating.  The crappie that I’ve caught there are small and not very numerous.  The fish in the pond just seem  to be lethargic due to the low water level. 

On River Bend, the bass ignore the spinner so, I revert back to the Shaw Grigsby paddle worm or the YUM stick worm.  The bass on River Bend seem a little larger than they were this spring but because of the fertile water their growth rate is slow.  The only natural food that I have discovered there is small minnows.  There is weed but the majority of the lake is a gravel bottom.  Of course the bass do feed on the larva and insect life there but it’s apparently not enough to sustain a good growth rate.

The last time I went out was about a little over a week ago as I had to under go surgery this week.  I am doing well in my recovery, thank God.  So, I will try again in a couple of weeks down the road weather permitting.

Tight  Lines

Jim

Today was a beautiful day, partly cloudy with a little breeze with a temperature of about 80 degrees.  My little 7 year old granddaughter, Evie, told me last week that she wanted to go fishing again and so Sunday, after church, here we are.  I asked Evie if she wanted to learn a new way to fish, like the way Grandpa fishes and she said that she would.  In the above picture, you can see some of the results, a nice crappie, but you can see some need for improvement as well; look at the line on the back of the reel.  Oh, well, that’s all part of the learning process and the important thing is; she was proud of her catch, and happy.  She also wanted me to give her the fish in her hand after I unhooked it so that she could personally let it go back in the water.  Many kids are afraid to handle a fish because of their spines, but I showed her how to hold the fish so she wouldn’t get a stuck finger; she did well.

Evie also tried fishing with one of those pre rigged worms that I had been catching some bass on.  I rigged up a different spin casting rod for her to fish with and after a while she got the hang of using it.  I was hoping that she would hook up with a bass but they were not cooperating at all today.  Well, maybe next time.

Evie also tried the old faithful worm and slip float and caught another crappie with that but, oddly, not a single bluegill. 

We fished for about two and a half hours, (about an hour longer then usual) until she said that she wanted to go home.

By the way , Evie also ran the boat to and from our fishing spot and really did a good job of that too.  She likes to steer the boat and make it go fast then slow…and so on.  She enjoys it.

All in all we caught 6 fish between us and enjoyed each others company.

Tight lines

Jim

The fishing has actually been a little slow for the past two weeks.  I’ve only managed to catch eleven bass at  River Bend on my last two outings fishing there in the last two weeks.  The top picture shows a typical bass at River Bend with some bass just a little larger.  I know that there must be bigger bass in that 90 acre lake but the largest that I’ve ever caught there in the last five years was 3 1/2 lbs.  I’ve tried just about every method that my arsenal will allow but just keep coming up with these small bass.  Fishing deep this summer got me nothing but fishing within 30 feet of shore will produce these smaller bass.

On the other hand the picture shown on the bottom is atypical bass caught on the pond.  An exceptional and rare bass of seven lbs I have caught here and one this summer (my second ever).  The bass population in the pond has been reduced and I have recommended to the “Lake Board” for our subdivision to restock with channel cats and bass but the board voted against it not believing that I was correct in my assessment, instead they had the lake evaluated by having it shocked.  The results of the survey were that the lake needs to be restocked with bass and channel catfish.  I have fished this pond for 32 years and I know it well.  I also know that spawn survival is minimal for both species. I was told that one of the board members said that he has been catching several bass near his area of the pond and didn’t think that the lake needed to be restocked based on that.  I could have told him that that particular area has always been the best for fishing; the bass just seem to be there most of the time, it is a little deeper there, some of the sediment was removed about two years ago, but the rest of the lake needs to be considered as well.

Since the lake is now completely surrounded with homes and most of the brush and fallen trees have been removed and replaced with lawns and small beach areas, in some cases, there is little forage area left for the fish to  survive or to replenish themselves with.  There is no running water and the pond is basically a long mud bottomed pool with sediment about 18” deep.  The depth above the sediment is about 5 1/2 feet deep on average and the water is always muddy now.  When We first moved here the water was much cleaner and more clear, we even went swimming in it with our kids.  The fishing was superb.  But, that’s progress for you.  I wish everyone cared as much as I do about the condition of the lake and some of us do in the subdivision, but…. 

Hopefully, now that the survey has been done we can have the lake restocked and Rob and Jim can convince the other board members to have it done.  Rob also  suggested that we could improve on the fish survival rate by installing artificial forage, “plastic spikes”   for the small fish to hide in and the DNR also recommended them .   Rob and Jim have done a lot on their own time to improve the lake lately and I appreciate their efforts.  They have both planted bull rushes and other plants on the shore and that helps too.  Steve let a fallen tree stay in the pond where it fell in the water and that has helped too, you can almost always catch crappies, cats, and bass there now.  Good job guys.

P.S.  The deer shown are two of this springs fawns along with their mother.  They frequent my back yard to eat the apples that fall from the tree.  They are beautiful.

Tight Lines

Jim

Unfortunately, it was my only bass this evening.  I  really haven’t been out that much for the last couple of weeks due to the heat and other matters that needed to be taken care of.  The only time that I have been out is on the pond, (our sub-division pond), for a couple of hours after supper.  Actually, after I load the car with my stuff, drive down to where I keep my boats, and load the boat, I have about an hour and fifteen minutes to fish.  And, as it seems, I have not picked the best places to fish.  I have managed to catch a few small bass and small crappie and I’ve gotten them just before dark, at the last moment.  I don’t fish in the dark.  But, I thought I’d keep you up to date anyway .  The weather will be cooling off starting in September and that should start the fish moving again trying to fatten up for winter.  The action should pick up again then.

As for you folks that don’t mind the heat I’ll say good luck and I wish you tight lines, and I don’t mean from snags!

Tight Lines

Jim

The day was exceptionally beautiful and a welcome relief from the hot, humid days that we’ve been having.  Ivan hadn’t fished for a while and it was good to get together with him again after a long absence. 

The fish were cooperating fairly well and this time I tried fishing the surface in the reeds and on top of the weeds.  My working deep lures, i.e., jigs and Texas rigged worms, spinners and cranks had not been doing the job in my search for the bigger bass in the lake (see recent postings).   Ivan wanted some action after a long layoff so, I provided him with some of my baits, ones that I had been successful with on previous trips to River Bend, the Strike King Caffeine Shad in white was doing the job.

Ivan was successful and began catching bass like the one shown and a little larger.  Again, I was searching for the bigger fish.  I decided to try the “Ribbit”, a floating frog by Stanley.  And I was doing alright getting hits but few hook ups.  It was the smaller bass hitting the lure but grabbing the frog by the leg but not engulfing the frog so that I could get a better hook up.

I thought that I should put on a stinger but the fish were small and I was still looking for the bigger fish .   I had recently read an article in ’Bassin’ magazine where this pro was catching monster bass in the weeds  (don’t they always?) so I stuck with the frog.

The frog floats and so I tried laying the frog in the reeds and slowly working the frog out and onto the weed beds.  Once I got the lure on top of the weeds I hopped the frog and then let it sit and then dragged it.  After it left the weeds I swam the frog back to the boat.  This got little results.

I then tried to work the frog a little faster.  The frog has paddle feet and stirs up the water like the “Rage” lures except  that it stays on top of the water. Letting it just sit and float and then swimming it fast got some action.  Pulling the frog faster along the surface got the most strikes but only five hook ups and three of them shook off the hook when they jumped near the boat.  I could see that the fish were barely hooked and putting the net under them was not an option; the fish were small.  I was not catching any big bass.  Then the action stopped.

We started out at about 4:00 pm and now it was getting close to 6:00 pm.  The score was Ivan 5 and Jim “0”.  Yes, Ivan had missed a few fish as well and he was having a good time.  I however, was going to be “skunked!!!”  I couldn’t let that happen so I used the Shad too for a while and caught two small bass.

We crossed the lake to the shady side.  The sun would be settling on the horizon and we hoped the bass would be coming nearer the shore in the shallows.  I tried the frog again but got nothing.  I switched to a crank bait that I had never used before even though it has been in my tackle box for a long time, an Excaliber  shallow runner. 

During the evening, the fish will sometimes come up to the surface chasing minnows or small fry. This got no results as well. I went to my deep diver and managed to catch a pair of small bass. I switched to the Shad again and caught two mere. Ivan managed to catch a couple more as well. We ended the day with Ivan catching seven bass and I caught four. Still, no big bass. Where are they? Tight lines Jim