War-Pig Weekend II ... but So Much More!

NumenOn the Water

Date:  4-24-16

Body of Water:  Reeds Lake

Boat:  Numenon

With:  Alone

Target: Largemouth Bass

Time:  6:45 AM - 12:15 PM

Conditions:  Clear and bright but with dropping barometric pressure and some clouds forming; 42 to 65 degrees F; ESE winds to 10 mph; water temperatures of 54 to 56 F; water clearing with about 3 feet of visibility

As I left the dock, I could see that Numenon was already in the warmest water she'd encountered all season.  But it was only a couple of degrees warmer than my last trip, so I figured I might be in for more of the same.  That was fine with me, but "better" would be welcome, too.

A rotund, keeper-sized pike ate a Rapala Shadow Rap on about my third cast, and two nice pre-spawn bass totaling about 5 pounds ate the War-Pig before 7:15 AM.  The fish seemed to be where I'd left them, and they seemed pretty active!  But the promising start was then somewhat offset by a slow period, and I hadn't caught anything else but a short bass (the first I'd encountered all year) by 8:30 or so.  I decided to make a pretty big relocation, but still stuck with the lipless rattling bait.  It was, after all, producing the best quality of bass for me, at least since the water had warmed past the 40's.

Once again I forced myself to slow down and keep the bait in contact with the weeds.  Two more pike were quickly followed by another 2-1/2 pound bass, and I started to hit my stride. This particularized edge is pretty straight, and I'd taken all the fish in about 4 or 5 feet, or perhaps a smidge shallower, over the weeds.  I still had more weed-line to go, so I kept working the War-Pig through and over similar water.  I'd been thinking about other, perhaps more productive presentations, but these thoughts were now replaced with determination to catch a virtual limit of keeper-sized (14 inches or greater) bass.  I was pretty sure the Pig would get me there, for the first time this year!

Michigan's current season allows only catch and immediate release fishing for bass right now, so there's no possession allowed.  But that fits in with my style of bass fishing anyway; I'm always working on a virtual limit for the day.  My goal on just about every bass fishing day is a virtual limit of 5 keepers, and my secondary goal is to have at least one big one in there.

By 9:10, I'd caught another pike and another bass pushing 3 pounds.  Then, on successive casts, I got my "limit" fish; and then a solid culling fish.  The Pig was on fire!

Let the (virtual) culling begin!  This my "limit" fish at about 9:10 AM, and things were starting to come together.

Moments later this twin came aboard and significantly elevated my "best-five weight."  This girl really choked the bait, too.  There was nothing timid about the way she ate!

This stretch had proven so productive that I chose to go through it again. (Have I mentioned that the ESE wind was blowing into this shoreline, and that the warmest water of the day was here?)  I gave a bluegill-colored swim jig a try through the entire stretch.  I had one very nice strike come unglued, but landed nothing; it was time to move again, and it was time to swim the Pig through some new water.

I ran across the lake, and on my second or third cast, the second short bass came aboard.  This fish had hit shallow, so some bass were definitely moving in.  But he was small, and numbers of little fish could not interest me on a day when so many nice fish were chewing.  I still tried to concentrate on weeds in 4 to 6 feet of water, and I was still casting that crawdad War-Pig.

I caught several nice bass and pike along this stretch.  The bass pictured below brought my estimated virtual limit (for 5 bass) to about 18 pounds; this was now officially (according to this chosen metric) my best day of fishing on Reeds Lake, ever.

Across the lake and an hour later, my pattern was still working.   On most days (for me) this would be the biggest bass of the day, but not on a day like today.  A pike would engulf and steal my War-Pig just a moment later, but that would prove to be no problem.

And the fish kept eating.  A couple more pike pushing 30 inches came aboard, as well as several more truly nice bass; all with this same presentation.  At this point, it really was "War-Pig Weekend II", but when a big pike jumped on my Pig and stole it (I can't really believe it had taken me this long to get bitten off), I had no choice but to start chucking something else.

Of course that something else was another lipless rattling bait; I chose an old Rattle Trap that had some crawdad overtones to it.  Fortunately, I was rewarded with a quick strike from another solid bass, so I didn't have to fret about the loss of my (now beloved) War-Pig.  When the Rattle Trap got stolen by another pike, I switched to a bluegill Rattling Rapala.

I decided to wind down my day with a stretch of shoreline that would conclude at a favorite, big fish spot.  It was where I'd started my day, and I figured there were probably some more fish to show my bait to.  And it appeared that the day would end slowly, because I'd hit another dry spell.  But then one of those random, crazy things happened, and one reason I love to fish is that one is more likely to notice those sorts of incidents.

With perhaps 50 yards left before I reached my endpoint, a boat roared across the lake, veered to get ahead of me, raced in front of me, set up shop for pan-fish, and turned their backs so as to avoid eye contact.  It was too thoughtless and petty an act to really matter on this fine day, but it was rude and unsportsmanlike.  I kept my cool and I thought I was rewarded when I caught a noisy 3-pounder 20 yards from them.

I couldn't really stop fishing, when I'd just caught the first one after my dry spell, and since it was the first one on this new rattle bait.  I simply chose to go around my new friends and continue fishing past them.  This was extending my search into some newer water.  It's not exactly unfamiliar to me, but it's not been the best to me, either.  

A few casts later, another fat pike inhaled the bait.  I didn't want to end on a pike, so I continued to cast.  At the end of a long cast, the bait stopped, and I swung.  The rod loaded nicely, and I crossed my fingers for this to be a bass.  And it was; the largest of the day, and the largest of the season (so far!), too.  She did her best, with typical head-shaking bass rolls, but she had swallowed the bait, and she was not going to get off.  In my haste to care for her, I didn't get a picture; but I took some accidental GoPro footage that I will to try to share else-wise.  She was way over five pounds, and likely my six-pounder for the year.  I will reserve the option, however, of encountering more like her at any time.  A big bass like this doesn't really excite so much as provide comfort; and there's definitely room for that in my angling life.

At this point, my virtual limit would have weighed at least 20 pounds.  I've only done that a few times, and never before on this particular lake.

A few casts later, I called it quits with the largest pike of the day, estimated at 30 or 31 inches.  I guess I could end the day with a pike.  I also guess that losing my single War-Pig wasn't all that critical to the day's success; I just have to tip my cap to the fellows that pushed me into this productive, alternative water. 

Wow!  I'd even left myself plenty of time for Sunday chores!

What do I have to say about this?

I am going to be conflicted next Saturday when Michigan's Lower Peninsula Muskellunge Season opens.  I love muskie fishing, but how can I choose not to bass fish at this time?  Well, I've been doing pretty well on pike with my bass-sized rattle baits, maybe I'll throw some bigger Traps with confidence for 'skies.

When I finished up and realized I had the last bass and pike on video instead of still pictures, recognizing the significance of the morning's events, I took a few moments to record a video blog.  I seem to have as much to share as many folks out there, and I'm enjoying myself.  Why not share?  But first I have to see how it turned out and how best to share (or not.)  

Finally, you have to love mid-sized four-stroke outboards.  I filled up after this session, and so far this season, I've used a grand total of 10 gallons of gasoline!  I can appreciate that, especially after our recent Florida trip.