Youtube Channel, The Nature of Fishing

 Thanks to Bass Boat Central forums, I just discovered a fantastic largemouth bass fishing channel on YouTube named The Nature of Fishing. The content is top-tier and a bit of a throwback to old-school In-Fisherman type teaching. Excellent stuff!

Wired2Fish on Fishing Largemouth In River Rice

 What I got from this video is using the Tokyo Rig and 2' foot in 2' out of the grass rule. This video could be helpful to me on Pokegama, the Mississippi River, and Gull River among other places. 

Florida Study Shows Bed Fishing Zero Impact On Largemouth

Facebook Video Here

The Study Here

It has been my opinion for a very long time that having a completely closed season on largemouth bass is nonsense from a scientific perspective.  Angling pressure during the spawn does next to nothing in effecting how successful a body of water is at producing largemouth bass.  This is doubly true in weedy natural lakes.  A lake's fertility, carrying capacity, and spawning habitat are what impact largemouth populations, not fishing pressure.

Get with the program state of Minnesota.  Open up largemouth bass to catch and release fishing when not in season.

My Sorry Lake Alexander Full Results

Conditions: 84-65℉, Sunny to start then partly cloudy to cloudy, 3-6mph SE
Water Temp: Low to mid 70's (just a guess)

The Day:
My boater Tim was confident we would crush them.  The fish had other ideas.

We started outside a small cove along the South shoreline.  Nothing there.  I started topwater, then went to spinnerbait, then to a jerkbait, then back to a smaller topwater.  As we got to a rocky shoal at the cove entrance Tim got his first keeper a small smallmouth.  I'm not even sure what he was fishing with.  We started approaching some docks.  I think Tim caught a fish and needed to re-tie so I went to the front of the boat.  I had a fish hit my Shower Blows when I wasn't paying attention and lost it half way to the boat.  It was just a small keeper, no big deal right?  A little way down the shoreline I got my big bass of the day on the Shower Blows.  It was a smallmouth that went about a pound and 2/3rds.  That was it for me for quite a while.  We jumped to a couple of reefs.  Tim had a good smallie break him off because he had his drag set too tight.

Tim was drop shotting and hardly getting a bite.  That really played with me mentally because I just was not prepared for the day to go down like that.  Finally, about 3 hours in we headed for some bullrushes.  Tim got a good largemouth on his second cast and then quickly missed one.  I missed hit on my frog in some small pads.  I then got a small keeper off the back side of the rushes.  Tim started culling and I got one that barely went over 12-inches.  I missed a couple more bites in the rushes.

We went and tried some other spots.  I got a couple shorts off of a small point.  We went back to the start spot and Tim got his big bass, a 3lb smallmouth.  It just wasn't happing there so we jumped a couple of offshore spots.  Tim had a smallie get snatched by a muskie when he was bringing it in.  He fought it for a couple of minutes before the muskie let go. Then the smallie got off Tim's line just like that.  It wasn't a very big one and when it got off the muskie was in hot pursuit. We went back to the bullrushes to end the day.  I missed one bite on a frog and I think I missed a couple that hit the craw tube but could have been rock bass.  Who knows.

Three small fish, what a disappointment!

The Results:
My three fish weighed 3/12 and put me in 18th Place out of 20 anglers.  Tim's fish weighed 12/04 and put him in 7th Place.  He was only 9oz out of 3rd Place so breaking off that fish really hurt.  The winner was non-boater Beau Bacon with 16/7.   Lunker went to Chuck Fields with a 3/14.

My Thoughts:  I didn't fish well.  For some reason, I was checked out mentally for most of the day and just couldn't get comfortable with what I was throwing.  I just think I was so unprepared for fishing to be so difficult.  For at least the last two weeks of June catching bass for me became a difficult proposition.  Not sure what it's gonna take for me to get out of this rut.  I better find my mojo quick because the next tournament is less than two weeks out. 

BOOM! Had a 100 Fish Day

19" at the Dam in the morning

19" at the GOMH in the Evening

13-inch Crappie on the Junebug Craw Tube

No giants, but a solid 6 fish bag

Morning Trip in the Trophy:
56 Bass (Meeting my 50 bass in a day goal) 
9 Pike
10.8 Fish Caught Per Hour

Evening at the GOMH:
35 Bass
3 Pike
1 Crappie
13 Fish Caught Per Hour

104 Fish Caught for the Day
91 Bass Caught for the Day

One of the crazy things.  3 guys from Arizona were there most of the afternoon busting them there as well.  If it wasn't for the rain I would have been at the GOMH earlier.  This day is what can happen when the lake is really on pre-spawn.  Just didn't get any giants.  I think the big ones I got in the evening were males.

How Opener Morning Went At The GOMH This Year

18.5" Piranha/Craw Fatty (Junebug/B/B)

5:15-7:45AM GOMH NE
Conditions: 54-57℉, Partly Cloudy, Calm to Light NE wind

I arrived a little later than I would have liked do to me putzing around at home a little to much, but it worked out as no one was on the N side when I got there.  There were people on the SW and SE side.  The guys on the SW had gotten one golden, a toothy and jumper or two.  I quickly made my leave.  Got my stuff out and got down to the NE side before anyone else could.  I didn't get anything for about 10 minutes and someone came down on the NW side.  I was thinking about bailing to get the Trophy when this happened.

22.5" Piranha/Swim Fluke Jr. (white)

The toothy was my first fish on Daiwa Tatula 7'1"MHRB with Tatula CT spooled up with 15lb Sunline Assassin.  I then put the junebug Piranha on the rod and caught the 18.5" jumper, and two 15" jumpers before the claws got bit off the Craw Fatty.  I then got three quick jumpers on the Grass Pig and didn't hook up with about 5 bites.  Then this happened.

While that was happening I switched to a Jerk Shad and got a couple of dinks.  Then this happened.

17" & 15" Jerk Shad (Chart Shad)

And there was a third fish trying to take it away from those two.  Not sure if that third fish was also hooked up or not.  What a way to start the season with a double on one bait.  Here's the 17" fish.

17" Jerk Shad

 I didn't think to take a picture of the 15 incher.  I then caught a 15.5", 14, and 16.25" and three toothy's before a toothy done stole my lure, that dirty dog.  So then I went briefly to a green pumpkin 110 Knock Off that I bought on eBay.  I got a toothy on that and then switched to a sexy shad Jerk Shad.  I got a 16" and dink jumper as well as two toothys on that before it got stolen.  More people showed up and the bite died so I got out of there.

7 Toothys
15 Jumpers

Best 6 (18.5, 17, 16, 16, 15.5, 15.5)

How Yesterday Went

19.33" SBKO (Chart/Hrng Bone)

7:30-9:20PM Platte Lake in the Trophy
10:00-11:00PM GOMH NE
Conditions: 59-50℉, Mostly Sunny, Light NE wind, Water Temp 59℉, Water level stable to falling despite the rain the past couple of days.

My plan was to wake up at 4:15AM this morning and hit the GOMH and possibly go out in the Trophy as well. I did wake up, but I stayed in bed until around 5:30.  I got up went to make sure there was no water in the windows downstairs, which there wasn't so that was good.  Came back upstairs and went back to bed. My back was tight and I didn't want to do the stretching.  I think I finally got up around Noon only to get back in bed around 1 and then I was up by 3PM.  The FLW weigh in from WI was just getting started when I got a phone call from Dad telling me to meet him at the Lake Place.  He would be dropping off the truck and trailer there with the bobcat he rented.  OK, no problem I needed to get the water in the boat pumped out anyway.  I planned to throw a few casts off the dock as well.

I was on my way and almost to 27 when Dad called my cell phone.  Change of plans.  He hit something and blew the drivers side front tire about half way from Onamia on 27.  I needed to go home get the spare tire and a hammer so he could get the lug nuts off. I did that and drove to where he was parked.  We got the shredded wheel off, the spare on and proceeded to the cabin without further incident.  I got the water pumped out for the most part, but didn't have time to fish.  

We got home a little after 5PM and Mom was making preparations to cook my walleye.  Mom did beer batter and they were delicious.  I watched what was left of the Bass Fest and FLW weigh in's while mom cooked.  I think I left the house to go fishing a little after 7PM.  I decided not to hit the GOMH first like I planned, but to go straight to the cabin and take out the Trophy.

After I got my stuff in the boat I realized I didn't have a plan for where I was gonna go.  So I thought maybe I would see if there was any action on the flat where I got them on topwater late last Fall.  So I headed to the reeds on the western boundary of where I fished last Fall.  I was so excited to start fishing I forgot to pump water out of the boat before I stopped moving and went up to the front.  Oh well.

23" Pure Poison/Swim Fluke Jr (bluegill)

I got a pike pretty quickly and took a pic because I wasn't sure I would catch anything else.  After fishing the reeds 15 minutes not getting another hit I decided to hit a couple of docks off to the West where never got a bite last Fall.

14" Shower Blows Knock Off (Chart/Hrng Bone)

Sure enough I got a bass to blow up the SBKO just off the first dock I went to.  Cool they are taking topwater tonight.  Instead of heading East to the other dock I was going to hit I looked West and got a nice one in between the dock I had just fished and the next one.

16??? SBKO

I didn't get measurement because I nicked a gill and she was bleeding pretty good.  I then got a small pike fishing out towards the reeds.  I also lost what I think was a big bass when I fubarred the hookset.  I didn't get anymore hits out so I went back in towards the docks.

10" SBKO

 I  got the dink, a 15.5", and missed a hit on the SBKO and craw tube around the next dock I fished.  The 15.5" came more out and between docks after the two misses.

19.33"

I put the cast that got the big girl of the night right next to the floating wave runner lift meets the dock.  When the SBKO got to the end of the lift she smacked it.  Put up a great fight and I managed to land her even though she only had the rear treble in.   I should really think about netting these fish that hit topwaters with 3 treble hooks.

16.25" SBKO

Very next cast right up by shore resulted in my last fish of the night.  I did have one more fish come up behind the SBKO on this dock, but it didn't hit it.  I took about 5 "last casts" and then I broke off my line on what was really going to be my last cast.  Fortunately it was still light enough out that I was able to spot the SBKO fairly easily once I got close enough.  I headed in.

I gave the GOMH a try for about an hour.  I was the only person there.  There was some activity, but I didn't get a hit.  At 11PM I pulled the plug.

How Bow Dah!

19.75" VMC Fly w/Maki Jamei (purple)

4:00-7:30PM Rock Lake My Spot

Conditions: 56-40℉, Mostly Sunny, Light SW wind,  16' mostly the waypoint holes.

I drilled a total of 4 sets of holes with the one's at the waypoint being triples, instead of my usual double, so I could put the new Aqua-Vu Micro 5c down.  When I went to use the MoPod the batteries were dead, so I had to position the camera manually.  Today there was better water clarity than the first time I tried it;  On that day it was basically unusable visibility was so poor.  I had a few sunfish and perch come in at first then nothing.  I stopped looking at the camera for a minute as I straightened out some things in the Fish Trap.  Next time I looked at the camera there was a fish looking right at the camera.  It was far enough away I couldn't tell if it was a pike or a bass.  It then swam right up to the VMC Fly as I was jigging it.  It sucked it in and spit it before I could react.  I kept jigging it and it sucked it in again.  The battle was on.  I pulled out the ducer and got the camera pulled up as well.  It did get tangled in the minnow line, but I was able to land it without a problem.  She put up a great fight.

19.75" VMC Fly

I was like dang, this fish is a really good one, almost 20 inches.  Unfortunately I didn't think to take a picture of it in my measuring cradle.  I released her down a different set of holes.  I would say it went a bit shy of 4lbs.  

I went back got the lines untangled and put on a new minnow and got the camera back down the hole.  I put the Rippin' Rap down the hole for doing the camera centering.  I had it almost right on, just needed to make one little adjustment.  When I got that done, low and behold there was another good bass staring down the Rippin' Rap.  Sure enough it could't resist and took a bite. I had it hooked for about 5 seconds then it got off.  

I'm not sure if it was the same fish or not, but almost immediately after it got off a fish came through and took my minnow.  I  set the hook and the battle was on.  I thought to switch off my anti-reverse switch so I could back reel my baitcaster.  There was not going to be a repeat performance of me breaking a fish off like a couple of weeks ago.

17.75" Glow Demon w/minnow

This fish was much more chunky and I thought to get the picture in the measuring trough.

I went back to fishing.  The visibility started getting more difficult due to little things in the water, not because of lack of light.  I missed the first crappie that came through and I started catching some sunfish and perch.  Mostly I just played with sunnies because they weren't very big one's.  I did get this 7", which was my biggest for the night.

7" VMC Fly w/Jamei & spike

I finally landed my first crappie for the night. Didn't think to take a picture of it.  When it bit I thought it was a sunfish I was looking at on the camera.  Not long after that I gave up on the camera because the visibilty was so bad.

    I caught this one potato chip.  I started moving around to my other holes and picking up crappies on the Fly and the Demon.  I finally thought to take a picture of a crappie.

9.25" Demon w/minnow

I decided I was on my last minnow at 7PM.  I caught a couple crappies on the Fly before a crappie came and took the minnow; I landed that fish.  I got a couple more crappies on the Fly and then I packed up.  I think I got fish in each set of holes.  It was a bit sloppy on the ice, but not to bad.  All in all a good night on the lake.

13 Crappies

19 Sunfish

8 Perch

2 Bass

What I Caught My Bass On In 2016

Largemouth: 52 Different Lures Used

I caught a total 764 largemouth in 2016.  My catch rates for them this year were nothing to write home about yet again.  The most I caught in a single day was a pretty pathetic 16 fish.  Even when I was on 'em I wasn't really on them to good in 2016.  I'm setting an ambitious goal for catching a thousand largies in 2017.

Smallmouth: 5 Different Lures

Smallmouth at Eddy's Jetty has always been a hit and miss proposition.  This year I got a few hits which is always good.

Election Day Pike, Bass, and Crappie Action

17.75" River2Sea Bubble Walker

3:00-7:00PM N Side of Don's Bay Juice & at the GOMH
Conditions: 57-40 degrees, Mostly Sunny, NNW Wind turning calm, Water Temp 49-48 degrees.

I started out fishing in the juice reeds.  Didn't get anything there, but as soon as I went onto the flat I started getting pike the biggest of which was.  I caught 4 and had a few hits I didn't get to see.  I then moved closer to shore in the calm water and fished with the Bubble Walker.  I had a fish up by shore miss.  I cast back and had another bite and I got it.

14.5" Bubble Walker

 I think it might have been a different smaller fish.  I then got a 15" bass in the thick shallow cabbage on the Bubble Walker.  Fish then started busting here and there.  I got the 17.75" casting out.  It was hooked in the gill, but I got it unhooked and back in the water quickly.  I think it will survive.

Where the sun was at when I got the 17.75"

I moved around on the juice chasing busting fish, but then they started busting all around me, but I couldn't get a hit.  And the one's that did didn't get the lure.  My last fish of the night was a crappie of all things.

11" Bubble Walker

It was yet another beautiful November night on the lake.

Another Perfect November Night in the Trophy.

18.75" Bubble Walker

4:00-6:30PM N Side of Don's Bay Juice
Conditions: 69-60 degrees, Mostly Sunny, Light SW wind turning calm, 49 degree water.

I started at West Point and didn't get a thing.  I then headed to the North side of Don's Bay hoping to expand the juice throwing an Spro Aruku Shad.  Had one fish follow, but couldn't see what it was.  As I approached the SW corner of the juice I switched to a Bass Pro Shops Flat Shallow Crankbait.  I was almost immediately rewarded with a 17 incher.

1st fish I ever caught on this color, don't think I'd ever thrown it.

17" BPS Flat Shallow

I had the good sense to throw out a marker buoy.  That was a good move because it took me a little while to get the fish unhooked with the way the lure was wedged in it's mouth and I got blown of the spot.  After releasing the fish I got repositioned thanks to the marker buoy and immediately caught another 17 incher.

17" BPS Flat Shallow

Unfortunately there wasn't a school holding in that spot, just those two fish.  I even got the GPS out and marked a way point after thoroughly working the area.  I then drifted across the flat.  I started throwing the Bubble Walker as a few baitfish were getting hit.  I caught a dink up by shore.

10.5" Bubble Walker

The shoreline continues down on my left.  With a long cast I could have hit it at this point. The fish came out of about a foot of water.   I had a small pike jump over the Walker. 

Some fish got hit out but very close to me so I quickly motored out.  I threw out a cast, reached down to stop the trolling motor and a fish lit the Bubble Walker up.  When I caught up to the fish it was still there , but the sucker was swimming straight at me.  I didn't get much of a hookset and it came off about three quarters of the way in.  It felt like a good fish.  A couple casts later I had a big one jump after the Walker right after it landed.  I set the hook, but it missed the lure.  I cast back a few times, but couldn't get it to strike again.  

Where I was fishing at.  Look familiar?

A baitfish got hit off to my left within casting distance.  I put a cast on the spot, nothing.  I put a second cast on the spot and worked the bait extremely slow letting it sit for more than 30 seconds before popping it again multiple times.  Letting it sit eventually triggered the fish and I landed it, another 17 incher.

17" Bubble Walker

About 10 minutes later I got the 18.75" once again working the lure super slow over a spot where a fish had shown itself to be.  That was my last bite of the night despite the fact that fish boiled within casting range a few times.  The fish stayed active until it was getting to dark for me to see my lure on a long cast.

Perfect November Night to be Out

 You can read about my other trips this month at the Log Blog.