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Date: March 4, 2018 Body of Water: Reeds Lake Boat: Numenon With: Alone Target: Largemouth Bass Time: 10:45 AM to 3:45 PM Conditions: Mostly sunny and 35 - 45 degrees F; easterly winds at 15 mph; water was stained brown, about 3 feet visibility, 39 - 40 degrees F My first trip of the season is usually all about just getting out, shaking down the boat and equipment, celebrating the start of something new, and perhaps, catching a fish. But after the last couple of years' success on my inaugural trip, and with that success having revealed a couple of viable starting points for actually catching fish, I returned to East Grand Rapids' Reeds Lake. The forecast included 15 mph winds from the east, and this proved to be accurate. The docks were not yet in, but I'd prepared myself with chest waders, and soon I had Numenon secured against the big willow just north of the ramp. I was, perhaps, the second boat to launch for the season; a companion was struggling with boat control near the lake's west end. I was armed with small cranks, a jerk-bait, a spy-bait and hair jigs. I intended to fish over and off the edges of any green weeds I could find, especially in areas known to have produced big fish in the past. The ice had been out less than a week, and I quickly established that weed growth was lagging, at least when compared to my experience the previous couple of years. I continued to probe the same types of areas, but when the spy- and jerk-baits failed to produce any action, I switched to casting shallow-running cranks, especially over the nascent weeds. Over the winter I had secured a new crank-bait casting outfit; the Shimano Curado 200 paired with a Duckett Ghost rod casted my small baits of choice like a dream. It also shined when, on my second cast, I detected the slightest of hesitations in my lure's cadence. I swung, and connected with the first Michigan fish of the season, a 22-inch pike. She'd eaten a KVD square-bill in about 3 or 4 feet of water. After a quick pic, she was released; my gyotaku efforts would have to wait until I landed a legal-sized and in-season fish. A similar small crank, a Shad Rap that I'd weighted for neutral buoyancy, produced my other fish for the day, an even smaller (but still welcomed) pike. This fish also hit at the end of a long cast in 3 or 4 feet of water. I concluded the day by blade-baiting the 16-30 foot depths outside my favorite bass spawning area. I marked many fish out here, but had no bites. I was joined by another bass boat utilizing the same tactics, and they landed a pretty nice pike, which appeared to be snagged. The water was still a bit too cold for success with jerks; and perhaps visibility was too limited for success with hair jigs and spy-baits. What do I have to say about this? This trip was a success in my book; everything worked as expected, my new gear shows considerable promise, and I encountered no real problems or aggravations. The deck was stacked against any substantial fishing success, and I truly enjoyed encountering and catching the pair of pike that I did. It looks like I've weathered another Michigan Winter. My biggest problem and concern might simply be being able to come close to matching the catching success I enjoyed last spring. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways
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