Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Monday, August 19, 2013
Stayin' fresh and Preppin' for WNTT
I had the opportunity to get out on Harlan this weekend.
The bite is finally starting to pick up on largemouth bass. Despite the lower water, the fishing is excellent right now.
I lucked onto an accidental frog bite Saturday and even caught a couple on a swim bait and tube. I say accidental because I only threw the frog because I had pulled it out to get it out of the way. I picked up the rod and something nudged me to throw it (it looked right). First cast was rewarded with a 4. Despite that, I still put it doen and grabbed a buzz bait. Two hookups and losses prompted me to pick the frog back up and guess what? A 2 1/2 on the next cast. Soooooo, I decided to stick with it and filled a nice limit around 20 pounds, including a 6 plus kicker. The fish were relating to wood and were cruising the outer edges of the heaviest cover. Even caught some whites, a big drum and a good cat. Everything swam free. Overall, a great day.
Conditions: Overcast, SE wind around 15, water temp 73.
White Bass are shallow (less than 3 feet) with many limits being reported. Cats are shallow and aggressive.
Preppin!
I'm finalizing my prep for the Western Nebraska Bass Tournament Trail at Merritt this weekend. I haven't been to the lake since 2003, so I will be at a disadvantage from recent experience. I have however put together a game plan based on available information. The first day will be an exercise in breaking down a lake, catching enough to be competitive and preparing for a successful day 2. I had planned to get up there for some pre-fishing this year, but circumstances haven't allowed for that. So, I'll go in with a good attitude and Hopefully my homework pays off. The lake will be quite different this year as water levels are much higher than normal (for this time of year). Wish me luck.
The bite is finally starting to pick up on largemouth bass. Despite the lower water, the fishing is excellent right now.
I lucked onto an accidental frog bite Saturday and even caught a couple on a swim bait and tube. I say accidental because I only threw the frog because I had pulled it out to get it out of the way. I picked up the rod and something nudged me to throw it (it looked right). First cast was rewarded with a 4. Despite that, I still put it doen and grabbed a buzz bait. Two hookups and losses prompted me to pick the frog back up and guess what? A 2 1/2 on the next cast. Soooooo, I decided to stick with it and filled a nice limit around 20 pounds, including a 6 plus kicker. The fish were relating to wood and were cruising the outer edges of the heaviest cover. Even caught some whites, a big drum and a good cat. Everything swam free. Overall, a great day.
Conditions: Overcast, SE wind around 15, water temp 73.
White Bass are shallow (less than 3 feet) with many limits being reported. Cats are shallow and aggressive.
Preppin!
I'm finalizing my prep for the Western Nebraska Bass Tournament Trail at Merritt this weekend. I haven't been to the lake since 2003, so I will be at a disadvantage from recent experience. I have however put together a game plan based on available information. The first day will be an exercise in breaking down a lake, catching enough to be competitive and preparing for a successful day 2. I had planned to get up there for some pre-fishing this year, but circumstances haven't allowed for that. So, I'll go in with a good attitude and Hopefully my homework pays off. The lake will be quite different this year as water levels are much higher than normal (for this time of year). Wish me luck.
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
New Friends
I had the opportunity to meet and fish with a couple of great guys yesterday. Brothers Justin and Eric fished Harlan when they were young, but never knew it as a Largemouth Bass lake. Justin (a teacher) is a Nebraska transplant now residing in California and Eric (a worship minister) now lives in Kansas. How cool is that, these guys both have professions to impact the lives of others. I was honored to have the opportunity to share the lake, talk a little fishing and chase some Bass with them. It's always fun to hear stories and techniques from other bodies of water, especially those as different as Clear Lake and the Delta. While our Bass are not nearly as big (as California lunkers), Harlan does contain some of the areas best largemouth.
The weather was nice with Sunny skies giving way to a few clouds late and just enough wind to allow the fish to cooperate. The fish definitely wanted a slow or still bait and we caught several on plastics, swim baits and top water. We didn't catch anything big, but we also didn't catch anything small. A few catfish and drum also kept it spirited. We were able to get around the lake and give them an opportunity to see Harlan from different perspectives. The fishing isn't fast and furious, especially at this time of year, but it is consistent and a patient angler will be rewarded with enough to keep him interested.
I want to thank them for a great time on the water and look forward to fishing with them somewhere down the road. One of these days, I am going to have to journey out west to experience Clear Lake. Opportunities to catch a "10" are few and far between.
See ya fellas!
The weather was nice with Sunny skies giving way to a few clouds late and just enough wind to allow the fish to cooperate. The fish definitely wanted a slow or still bait and we caught several on plastics, swim baits and top water. We didn't catch anything big, but we also didn't catch anything small. A few catfish and drum also kept it spirited. We were able to get around the lake and give them an opportunity to see Harlan from different perspectives. The fishing isn't fast and furious, especially at this time of year, but it is consistent and a patient angler will be rewarded with enough to keep him interested.
I want to thank them for a great time on the water and look forward to fishing with them somewhere down the road. One of these days, I am going to have to journey out west to experience Clear Lake. Opportunities to catch a "10" are few and far between.
Monday, August 5, 2013
The GOOD, The BAD, The UGLY!
I almost didn't want to write this, but I have to accept that sometimes we have really bad days. Without the bad, we couldn't have the good. What am I talking about? Well, this past weekend I participated in the 2013 Nebraska Mr. BASS Tournament. I was very excited to fish and really like the format. They call you the Sunday before and announce the lake, then it's off-limits until Friday. Friday is the official practice day and Saturday the tournament.
Sunday evening I got the call. Norton (Keith Sebelius) lake in Norton Kansas. Norton!?!? Ouch, I haven't been on that lake in over 10 years. No sweat, I started my research and preparation. I found the water to be very low, but I figured I could find a creek bite as there are 2 creeks that would still have enough water, along with the river (where the tournament 3 weeks prior was won - although at 2 feet higher water). I looked over my lake map, Google Earth and other Satellite imagery over several years. I had a plan.
Friday: I arrived at the lake, prepped the boat and launched at safe light. I took a stroll (slow drive) around the lake to acclimate myself with the low water. Once I felt comfortable, I went to my first creek. I immediately caught a short and then got broke off on a big top-water strike. I ventured further back and caught 2 shorts and then back to back keepers flipping a tube. Great, my plan was coming together. I left the creek and started making my way up the river. Keeper here, keeper there, found a solid pattern of keepers on transition spots of channel swings. I spent the remainder of the day visiting other spots that were similar. I caught a few and shook off a few. I had a plan, this is the GOOD!
Saturday: Ever have a day that spirals down hill fast? I drew a late launch position, but hey, no big deal. I ran to my starting point, hopeful I could get into the creek. I was the first in. I immediately started catching fish. Short, short, short, short, you get the picture. Now the BAD, I started hearing a thump, thump every time I hit the trolling motor. A little panic crept in, could my motor be going out? I lifted it up to find my transducer broke clean off. The thump was the prop blade hitting the transducer. Fortunately, I have electrical tape in the boat. I taped the transducer to the shaft and proceeded on. I stayed in the creek, expecting the fish to cooperate. I expected that the fish must have been pressured heavily the day before. I'm sure many others fished it as well, but I figured if I slowed down and was deliberate, it would pay off. I caught plenty of 13 - 14 7/8 inch fish, but no keepers. Getting late, I figured I could resort to the channel swings. I ran spot to spot and found short after short, even a huge Wiper (they don't count). I eventually managed 1 keeper. I decided to run back to the lower end and finish on a spot that held fish in shallow weeds on a point. I found fish breaking on shad in a foot of water, I started catching them. Short, short, then I saw bigger fish up shallower. I moved closer and I missed a huge strike. The wind was now blowing me past, so I tried to turn to get back in position. No deal. The wind pushed me up on a shallow root wad. I tried and tried but eventually I had to get in the water (the UGLY) It took me 30 minutes or so, but I finally managed to clear the root wad. I had 20 minutes left. I ran back to the weigh-in and fished until time. No more keepers.
Hind sight: In retrospect, I failed to adjust to the conditions. Yes, the fishing was tough and the weights low. However, others found a few keepers on the shallow flats away from the deeper swings. The overcast skies allowed the fish to move way up on the flats (despite the lower water) and I failed to recognize that. Congratulations go out to the fellas that figured it out.
We all have bad days, and this was mine. I just hope I got it out of the way. I don't like struggling to adjust. I don't mind getting beat, but I do mind failing to execute. All you can control is how you react to the situation you find yourself in. In the end, you keep your head up, congratulate the others and move on. So I'll log my lessons learned and prep for the next one.
Redemption: I had a chance the following day to get back on Harlan. I didn't fish long, maybe two hours and caught a couple nice ones. That always helps.
Until the next time, good fishing and God Bless!
Sunday evening I got the call. Norton (Keith Sebelius) lake in Norton Kansas. Norton!?!? Ouch, I haven't been on that lake in over 10 years. No sweat, I started my research and preparation. I found the water to be very low, but I figured I could find a creek bite as there are 2 creeks that would still have enough water, along with the river (where the tournament 3 weeks prior was won - although at 2 feet higher water). I looked over my lake map, Google Earth and other Satellite imagery over several years. I had a plan.
Friday: I arrived at the lake, prepped the boat and launched at safe light. I took a stroll (slow drive) around the lake to acclimate myself with the low water. Once I felt comfortable, I went to my first creek. I immediately caught a short and then got broke off on a big top-water strike. I ventured further back and caught 2 shorts and then back to back keepers flipping a tube. Great, my plan was coming together. I left the creek and started making my way up the river. Keeper here, keeper there, found a solid pattern of keepers on transition spots of channel swings. I spent the remainder of the day visiting other spots that were similar. I caught a few and shook off a few. I had a plan, this is the GOOD!
Saturday: Ever have a day that spirals down hill fast? I drew a late launch position, but hey, no big deal. I ran to my starting point, hopeful I could get into the creek. I was the first in. I immediately started catching fish. Short, short, short, short, you get the picture. Now the BAD, I started hearing a thump, thump every time I hit the trolling motor. A little panic crept in, could my motor be going out? I lifted it up to find my transducer broke clean off. The thump was the prop blade hitting the transducer. Fortunately, I have electrical tape in the boat. I taped the transducer to the shaft and proceeded on. I stayed in the creek, expecting the fish to cooperate. I expected that the fish must have been pressured heavily the day before. I'm sure many others fished it as well, but I figured if I slowed down and was deliberate, it would pay off. I caught plenty of 13 - 14 7/8 inch fish, but no keepers. Getting late, I figured I could resort to the channel swings. I ran spot to spot and found short after short, even a huge Wiper (they don't count). I eventually managed 1 keeper. I decided to run back to the lower end and finish on a spot that held fish in shallow weeds on a point. I found fish breaking on shad in a foot of water, I started catching them. Short, short, then I saw bigger fish up shallower. I moved closer and I missed a huge strike. The wind was now blowing me past, so I tried to turn to get back in position. No deal. The wind pushed me up on a shallow root wad. I tried and tried but eventually I had to get in the water (the UGLY) It took me 30 minutes or so, but I finally managed to clear the root wad. I had 20 minutes left. I ran back to the weigh-in and fished until time. No more keepers.
Hind sight: In retrospect, I failed to adjust to the conditions. Yes, the fishing was tough and the weights low. However, others found a few keepers on the shallow flats away from the deeper swings. The overcast skies allowed the fish to move way up on the flats (despite the lower water) and I failed to recognize that. Congratulations go out to the fellas that figured it out.
We all have bad days, and this was mine. I just hope I got it out of the way. I don't like struggling to adjust. I don't mind getting beat, but I do mind failing to execute. All you can control is how you react to the situation you find yourself in. In the end, you keep your head up, congratulate the others and move on. So I'll log my lessons learned and prep for the next one.
Redemption: I had a chance the following day to get back on Harlan. I didn't fish long, maybe two hours and caught a couple nice ones. That always helps.Until the next time, good fishing and God Bless!
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