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Date: March 17, 2018 Body of Water: Reeds Lake Boat: Numenon With: Alone Target: Largemouth Bass Time: 12:45 PM to 5:15 PM Conditions: Mostly sunny and 35 - 50 degrees F; variable but light winds; water was stained brown, about 3 feet visibility, 37 - 39 degrees F, once I got out there I'd chosen to fish Reeds Lake this day because I thought I knew some starting points for success, based on the last couple of seasons. But after a half hour or so of casting cranks, jerks and spy-baits without a fish encounter in the shallows, and without even having found any attractive weed beds, I edged out to deeper water. I chose to explore a spot where a known spawning flat connects to some of the deepest water in the lake at the end of a submerged point. I switched to a Bass Pro Shops blade-bait and probed the 15-to-25-foot depths in this area. When my rod loaded on the third cast in the area, I was super pleased! The bass couldn't fight too well in the cold water, but it was still fun for me! I dropped a waypoint and continued scouting this area. When the wind had moved me off the spot a bit, I turned around and casted to where I thought I'd been bit before. I swung on a faint "tick" in the line and connected; this was a much nicer, heavier bass that had really inhaled the bait! Both fish had come from 17- to 21-feet of water, and I now felt like I had the start of a pattern. In fact, I was confident that I had one! I worked the next three hours or so for four more bites, all on the gold blade-bait; so it wasn't the best pattern. I worked the bait slowly along the bottom with subtle lifts (just enough to feel the blade vibrate a few times) and frequent pauses. It was very much like fishing a Texas-rigged worm. Half the strikes were detectable "ticks", but the other half revealed themselves as heavy mush. All in all, this was my best ever blade-baiting experience, and it certainly increased my confidence in this bait and my growing ability to use it. I lost the largest, unseen fish about halfway to the boat. Losing fish is reportedly part of fishing blade-baits! The remaining fish were a 16-inch bass and two pike. One pike was small, the other was legal-sized and very fat. Pike season had ended the day before, so all fish were released; my gyotaku will have to wait. All hit in about 16 - 18 feet of water. I tried shallower and deeper to know avail. All were outside known spawning areas. What do I have to say about this? This was a satisfying day, even if the catching was still a bit light. I think I beat the odds, though, by enjoying several nice fish on a new technique under difficult conditions. The new Duckett rod excels at this technique, too. On the way home, I contacted good friend DC to see if he could join me the next day. It has been a while since I could share some fish with a buddy, and I was pleased when he accepted the invitation! Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways
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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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June 2024
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