NumenOn the Water
Date: March 28, 2017
Body of Water: Reeds Lake
Date: March 28, 2017
Body of Water: Reeds Lake
Boat: Numenon
With: DC
Target: CIR Largemouth Bass
Time: 4:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Conditions: Water 42 - 43 degrees; skies cloudy but clearing dramatically by 6 PM. Calm to mild easterly winds, air temps about 50 - 60 degrees.
I casually covered some water with an olive Shadow Rap jerk-bait until good friend DC arrived. I thought I was saving some of the best water for his company as I worked 5 feet of water (+/-), mixing in shallow cranks and a spy-bait. But the fishing was clearly NOT on fire. My first strike came as a bit of a surprise; I thought I had swung and missed, but soon realized that the fish was racing towards and under the boat. As my drag slipped heavily, I threw the rod tip into the water, but I was too late; my line was already wrapped in the propeller of my trolling motor, and I lost both the fish and a good bait when my line parted soon thereafter. I'm sure it was a pike, but, once again, I'd have like to at least seen her.
I re-tied and gathered myself together. I switched to a white and chartreuse Shadow Rap is the skies were starting to clear. A few casts later, I was treated to a very cool visual strike, when a 15-inch bass inhaled my bait (at rest) about eight feet in front of me. At least I was on the board, and I had something of a starting point for when DC came aboard a few minutes later.
I was lucky to make some quick work of a couple of smallish pike on this same bait in similar water. As we approached the best water (eerily close to where I'd caught the previous day's big bass), I detected a subtle strike. I set the hook, and my drag started racing, this time away from the boat. With some confidence, I asked DC to get the net; but as he picked it up, my hooks pulled (again!) Let's just say that I am preparing a slightly heavier rod for jerking for the rest of the spring; I have simply lost too many heavy fish on my current setup.
At about this point of the evening, a brief and weak wind from the east developed, and the skies cleared. Amazingly, the fish activity dramatically declined, too, because we only got a couple more bites for the rest of the night. Although I mixed in several other presentations over the evening, looking for something the fish liked, and DC was using a variety of baits from the back of the boat, only the Shadow Rap got bit. Both fish were pike; the last was a very fat and healthy, approximate 28-incher that came from deeper water, off the weed edge.
I casually covered some water with an olive Shadow Rap jerk-bait until good friend DC arrived. I thought I was saving some of the best water for his company as I worked 5 feet of water (+/-), mixing in shallow cranks and a spy-bait. But the fishing was clearly NOT on fire. My first strike came as a bit of a surprise; I thought I had swung and missed, but soon realized that the fish was racing towards and under the boat. As my drag slipped heavily, I threw the rod tip into the water, but I was too late; my line was already wrapped in the propeller of my trolling motor, and I lost both the fish and a good bait when my line parted soon thereafter. I'm sure it was a pike, but, once again, I'd have like to at least seen her.
I re-tied and gathered myself together. I switched to a white and chartreuse Shadow Rap is the skies were starting to clear. A few casts later, I was treated to a very cool visual strike, when a 15-inch bass inhaled my bait (at rest) about eight feet in front of me. At least I was on the board, and I had something of a starting point for when DC came aboard a few minutes later.
I was lucky to make some quick work of a couple of smallish pike on this same bait in similar water. As we approached the best water (eerily close to where I'd caught the previous day's big bass), I detected a subtle strike. I set the hook, and my drag started racing, this time away from the boat. With some confidence, I asked DC to get the net; but as he picked it up, my hooks pulled (again!) Let's just say that I am preparing a slightly heavier rod for jerking for the rest of the spring; I have simply lost too many heavy fish on my current setup.
At about this point of the evening, a brief and weak wind from the east developed, and the skies cleared. Amazingly, the fish activity dramatically declined, too, because we only got a couple more bites for the rest of the night. Although I mixed in several other presentations over the evening, looking for something the fish liked, and DC was using a variety of baits from the back of the boat, only the Shadow Rap got bit. Both fish were pike; the last was a very fat and healthy, approximate 28-incher that came from deeper water, off the weed edge.
What do I have to say about this?
While the fishing wasn't necessarily great (I started the evening with high expectations!), it was a beautiful evening. There were more loons on the lake, and they were very vocal. A noisy flight of high-flying tundra swans reminded me of the urgency of Spring. And it was simply nice to be out with DC again; it's been five months or more since we'd fished together.
While I love my jerk-bait step (a high quality, but ancient 6.5-foot Shimano rod with medium light power and pretty slow action, paired with 6-pound Nanofil unifilament line and a 15-pound fluorocarbon leader) for bass, I'm clearly not sticking the hooks into all the fish I might have, otherwise. Next time out, I'll be throwing at least some of my jerk-baits on a 7-foot medium, faster rod with 15-pound braid/leader. This steelhead setup has worked well for me in the past, and should allow for more effective hooksets, and maybe a few more fish landed.
But the real lesson of the night is that fishing is fishing; and fish can be unpredictable. As was just illustrated in the Bassmaster's Classic, it's super difficult to to be consistent on the water. A primary goal of mine (on the water) is to reduce my inconsistency to the greatest extent possible. Time and information are both limited; I need to make the best use of them!
While the fishing wasn't necessarily great (I started the evening with high expectations!), it was a beautiful evening. There were more loons on the lake, and they were very vocal. A noisy flight of high-flying tundra swans reminded me of the urgency of Spring. And it was simply nice to be out with DC again; it's been five months or more since we'd fished together.
While I love my jerk-bait step (a high quality, but ancient 6.5-foot Shimano rod with medium light power and pretty slow action, paired with 6-pound Nanofil unifilament line and a 15-pound fluorocarbon leader) for bass, I'm clearly not sticking the hooks into all the fish I might have, otherwise. Next time out, I'll be throwing at least some of my jerk-baits on a 7-foot medium, faster rod with 15-pound braid/leader. This steelhead setup has worked well for me in the past, and should allow for more effective hooksets, and maybe a few more fish landed.
But the real lesson of the night is that fishing is fishing; and fish can be unpredictable. As was just illustrated in the Bassmaster's Classic, it's super difficult to to be consistent on the water. A primary goal of mine (on the water) is to reduce my inconsistency to the greatest extent possible. Time and information are both limited; I need to make the best use of them!
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