Last Cast Limit

NumenOn the Water

Date:  9-6-15

Body of Water:  Big Whitefish Lake

Boat:  DC's Lund

With: DC

Target:  LMB

Time: 7 - 11:30 AM

Conditions:  Middle of Labor Day Weekend; Hazy, Hot and Humid; water 74-76 and filled with chopped weed; reasonably quiet morning until 11 or so; kind of tough fishing for bass of any size

With the languor of a long holiday weekend ahead of us, we’d agreed on a civil starting time of 7 AM for our fishing, but I just couldn’t help but think that we were missing out as I drove north in the developing pre-dawn light.  Indeed, things started quickly with my biggest bass of the day (almost 17 inches) on the Yozuri 3D Prop top-water on cast No.  5 or 6, and with three of our five “keepers” for the day coming in the first half hour.  We continued to catch fish throughout the morning, but for the most part these were short bass.  (We did catch quite a lot of 13.75-inchers; next year’s crop of ”keepers”, and I caught a couple of just-short pike, too.)  

Although we were constantly working the weed lines (very prominent on this lake, with lots of adjacent deep water), we basically fished how we liked, with an eye on complementing each other’s presentations at any given time.  We each rotated through our selection of rods, and while DC might have a preference for a tube, I’d be throwing a more aggressive top-water or spinnerbait; and if he were throwing a crank, I might be drop-shotting.

Regardless, we worked together pleasantly, and it seemed certain that we would acquire our virtual limit; but by 10:30 or so that seemed less certain.  We were stuck on four (DC had added a nice 16+ incher on a tube; this fish was seemingly suspended over deep water but smashed the tube near the surface), the bite was slowing, and the fish were short!  I was finally enjoying some inland success with the drop-shot (I love the Uncle Josh pork worms!), but even these fish topped out at 13.8”.    DC was searching for a big bite with a beautiful swim jig/trailer combo, and by 11, with the mercury climbing and the lake fully abuzz with skiers, tubers and fisherman, we knew we were running out of (enjoyable) time.

As we worked our final weed line, there was an aggressive top-water splash over the shallow weeds.  I burned a white spinnerbait/swimbait combo through the area (this bait had already taken some short bass and a pike over similar weeds) and got smashed near the boat!  I saw the green flash, but then it was gone!  Shith!  It might have been a dogfish, but if it were a bass…that was our anchor fish; and I’d blown it!

Well, we still had the anchored swim float off DC’s dock; this always seemed good for a fish or two.  DC had just about given up on this when his tube was intercepted by a bass. DC thought it was short, but when it hit the deck, I insisted on measuring this fatty; and, at 14.1 inches, it was “keeper” No. 5; completing our “limit” on the last cast of the day.

What do I have to say about this?

A virtual, combined limit of 7 or 8 pounds is nothing to brag about, but it sure beats falling short of our goal; and we were faced with increasingly difficult conditions.  We know we missed the easy bite (based on our initial half hour of easy catching and DC’s recent experience in the dark during the full moon period), but it was fun to work through the succession of smaller fish towards our goal.  And it was, after all, by mutual agreement that we started “late.”  I’m enjoying the “junk fishing” approach to the lake, because it I’m picking up and refining some techniques that I’ve allowed to get a bit rusty; and this approach should put bass in the boat just about any time, anywhere.