Since we got back from Las Vegas I haven’t been able to get out on the water much. In fact, yesterday afternoon was my first time out since we headed out to Sin City… Talk about depressing (sorry for all you northerners listening to my complaints while you deal with the hard water and snow). Yesterday afternoon Byron and I were able to get out on Istapokga for a few hours. Yesterday morning was beautiful! The sky was slightly overcast, winds were light, and temperatures were around 75 degrees F. We launched the boat at 4:30pm and by 4:40pm we were swamped by a massive storm system (wish we would have went out in the morning). I’m talking about heavy rain, hard winds, thunder, and lightning! Of course neither of us brought our rain gear so we spent the first 25 minutes trying to out run the storm system. Despite being hopeful, we lost the race with the rain (we made a complete lap around the lake and so did the storm). After burning half a tank of gas and delaying the inevitable, we found a spot out of the wind and started fishing.
We started along a long reed edge but it wasn’t happening. After that we moved up to the lily pads, on the outer edge of spawning area. With in the first 10 minutes I got my first bite… Unfortunately it was a northern! (Yep! A Snake, Snot-rockets, Slubey, Nortron, Hammer Handle, Gator, Toothy Critter, ect…. Whatever you want to call them they have those pesky things down here too. They call them Chain Pickerel here). As northern do, it cut my line and I was out a swimbait. A few minutes later Byron caught a 2lber on a Texas rigged craw. Twenty minuets later we worked into another set of pads and I got another good strike but when I set the hook all I came back with was a tail-less swimbait. Five minuets later I got another good strike, set the hook and had the fish on for a few seconds but I couldn’t keep it stuck. Like I’ve said before, I hate losing fish and this one felt like a good one; but it’s hard to say if it’s a good one or not when you never get a look at it. Two casts later I had a boil on my swimbait but the fish missed it clean. I threw back into the same spot and the fish smashed my lure. I cranked down and let it rip but that’s all that I could do. She owned me from that point on… I think I gained 6ft on her then she busted out of that water and spit the hook right back at me. Did I say that I hate losing fish?… Did I say that I hate losing big fish?… It’s a tough pill to swallow when the memory replays in my mind for 24hrs… I figure it was around a 7-8lbr. Easily the second biggest fish I have ever had on.
I had my routine temper tantrum (this usually takes place when I lose any bass over 3lbs), composed myself, and kept on keeping on. I can’t really explain why I was losing/missing such a high percentage of fish. I think it was just one of those days when all the bounces go the other way (its frustrating but it happens). The rest of the night we caught a few more bass around 1-2 pounds. It was kind of depressing losing a big one but one thing that was promising is that the bass seem to be moving towards the pads and I love fishing the pads. Among other reasons, lilies provide bass with shade and great ambush spots. When they move to these areas it can lead to some explosive/exciting fishing. Byron caught a couple in the pads on a top water weed-less frog, one of my favorite lures to throw and probably one of the best ways to catch these fish.
Starting tomorrow I will be hitting the water pretty hard and I’ll be sure to keep you all updated. Hopefully I’ll be able to keep them buttoned up and minimize my tantrums. Anyway, go pick your bracket! March Madness Baby (I really dislike Dick Vitale)! Oh, and just a little side note to Purdue, the city Lafayette, Indiana, and all other Boilermaker fans… Hide your wife, hide your husband, hide your kids, the St. Mary’s Gaels are coming for you.
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