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Date: August 22, 2019 Body of Water: Reeds Lake Boat: Numenon With: Alone Target: Largemouth Bass Time: 8:45 AM - 1:45 PM Conditions: 60 - 75 degrees, mostly sunny with ENE winds swinging to NW and <10 mph; water was 76 degrees F and heavily stained green, with less than 3 feet of visibility It has been a while since I have been able to utilize a "Flexible Schedule" day off work to go fishing! I took it easy and visited Reeds Lake, again. I had hopes for a continued crank-bait bite, and also hoped I'd have enough time to try to find some other productive techniques, too. I targeted the deep weedy edge of the primary offshore hump first. Once again, it took me 10 or 15 minutes to get properly oriented to the hump and its edges (especially 9-11 feet) with the unusual wind direction, but I did manage to settle in. I was about halfway down the south side of the hump when I instinctively swung on a slight interruption in the DT10's cadence. It was an 18-inch, 3.25-pounder! Just 10 minutes later, now at the eastern end of the hump, a fish smashed my crank almost below the boat. This bass was 17.5 inches and 3 pounds; I really was off to a good start! I relocated to the north side of the hump and had consecutive hits near the western end. Once again, keeping the bait in the "right" amount of contact with the irregular weed edge was key. While the first bass here was a shorty, the second was another fine, 17-inch "keeper". One hour of fishing; just over 9 pounds of bass! With a panfish boat anchored over the sweet spot of my next planned stop, I scouted out a couple of other, secondary locations. Once again, my secondary hump did not produce. I spent some time mixing in a swim jig and a Texas-rigged, 10-inch worm, but kept returning to the DT10 crank. When legal bass No. 4 was another solid fish (16.5 inches and over 2.5 pounds), I committed to finishing my limit with the DT10; these were the right fish! Returning to the west end of the north side of the hump, it didn't take long for me to connect with the archetypal bass of the day. The boat was positioned in 10 or 11 feet or water; I lined up my cast based on collecting too many weeds on the previous cast; anticipating contact with the weeds at the right moment, I slowed down my retrieve until I just touched them; I gave a pause and then a quick snap; and a bass annihilated the bait! This bass fought hard and deep, but I was able to slip the net under my biggest largemouth of the year at a pinch over 19 inches and a conservative 4.5 pounds. After finishing the northern stretch of weed line without any further contact, I switched to "search" mode. I quickly tricked a deep bass (15-20 feet) into eating a gold blade-bait, but the rest of my time was truly searching. I couldn't get anything else to go for me. What do I have to say about this? What a nice way to spend a Thursday! Pleasant conditions, no real pressure, and some quality fish! I'm definitely in danger of succumbing to the temptation of becoming a One-Trick Pony, at least seasonally. I've done virtually nothing other than cranking for Reeds Lake largemouths for the second half of the summer. It's tempting; I've been catching some nice fish, and I enjoy this technique. The Helsinki Shad DT10 still ruled the day (and produced my Top 5 bass), but I made a concerted effort to incorporate other presentations, too. I tossed a swim jig and a 10-inch Texas-rigged worm near weeds and docks, but never got touched. I did have some success with a gold blade-bait off the western edge of the main hump in water between 15 and 20 feet deep. I targeted those fish based on sonar marks; and it didn't take long to have a nice bass eat this bait. I was ripping the bait pretty aggressively off the bottom when the bass hit; and this was my first warm-water bass on this style of bait. I've had increasing levels of success with blade-baits in the last few cold-water seasons, and I am glad to add them to my summer arsenal, too. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways
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