I haven't been out fishing all that much since my trip to Big Jefferson. But something about that scum frog just made me get back out on a lake and test its worthiness.
What I've found is that I've ignored this tasty lure way to long. My first outing after the Jeff trip, I caught two bass, lost four that were on, and missed another five bites at least.
The action was fun, intense and also provided me with an on-the-go learning experience. Like all topwater baits, the scum frog needs a little touch when it comes to setting the hook.
I found out early on, and probably because the bite was just so violent, that you have to reel up the slack in your line or let the fish take the lure long enough to pull out the slack before you set the hook.
This is critical.
A slacked line ends in a poor hookset, which ends in a 2 for 6 performance. In baseball, a hitter can be happy with a .333 average. In fishing, this only causes heartache.
The two bass I did catch were more than enough to satisfy my curiosity about the frog. On those two catches, I tossed the scum frog on top of, well, scum that hugs the edges of my honey hole.
With the frog on the scum, I hopped and twitched the little lure slightly to the edge of the scum where I let it sit a second. And, like clockwork, I twitched the frog at the edge to let the bass know where the was, but before I could twitch the frog into the water, the bass would shoot through the scum and take both it and the lure in its mouth.
Wow. Fishing topwater is always a visual treat, but watching bass smack through muck and scum to get to my lure, that was truly something else.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is that if you haven't tried a scum frog, do so. If you need a new experience and lure to add to your fishing arsenal, this little baby will more than seal the deal.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
McKee, Kramer repeat
After a strong showing on Lake Washington in which three-time defending champs Stu McKee and Roger Kramer posted a four-fish weigh-in over 13 pounds, the duo followed up with a two fish, 13 pound 3.8 ounce showing at Madison Lake.
The duo also won the big-fish prize for Madison, pulling in a walleye topping the scale at 8 pounds, 4.3 ounces. The top billing pushes the duo into first place, ahead of Dan Griep and Bill Holland, who didn't boat a fish at Madison Lake.
Second place went to Chris Roemhildt and Dan Bunde, who netted two fish for a 3-pound, 6.6-ounce stringer. Third place went to Lloyd Tru and Ron Patterson, who weighed one fish at 3 pounds, 2.9 ounces.
Tim Hobbs, who helps organize the tournaments, said 21 boats registered for Tuesday's Madison Lake tournament with 38 anglers participating, a good number considering the rainy weather.
"After the first 45 minutes, it wasn't too bad," Hobbs said.
Next up, the walleye tourney heads to Lake Jefferson, which brings me to my next thought.
Big Jefferson
Went out fishing Thursday with my brother-in-law, Dave. We really wanted to mix things up and try a lake we don't normally fish, so we headed out to Big Jefferson (East Jeff for those of you still confused).
I'd heard the rumors of overgrown weeds and the difficulty the weeds were causing anglers, but until I saw it, there was no way to really understand how bad it has gotten.
If we were in 5 feet of water, there would be 6 feet-plus of weeds. Thirteen feet of water, 13 feet of weeds. In close, out deep, the weeds were everywhere.
We spent the first three hours battling the weeds and finding pockets to fish through. Dave, being a master of the mimic minnow (he contends there is a special skill for using this lure that involves twitching and jerking, something a straight retrieve can't mimic), hooked into a couple of stripers before catching a small walleye.
For me, nothing but a bullhead. Needless to say, the frustration level was high, so much so that even I tied on a mimic minnow, which led to my first largemouth of the outing.
The struggle got so bad that I'd contemplated calling it a day, and anyone who knows me knows I hate to leave a lake. With little hope for the lake and with a big list of complaints growing in my head (something I intended to vent about here in this blog), I suggested to Dave it was time to throw on a scum frog.
"Well, you better do it soon, cause we're running out of daylight," Dave said.
With the invitation, I tied on the old scum frog, more so because I just wanted to throw a lure that I wasn't going to pick weeds out of.
Within a minute I lost a bass. Within five minutes I had two bass on. During those last waning moments of daylight, I managed to pull in five bass, all pretty decent in size and all very violent on the bite.
What went from a horrible outing on Big Jeff turned into a pretty tasty day on the lake. I just wonder if we would have caught bass all day had we switched to that presentation earlier.
The duo also won the big-fish prize for Madison, pulling in a walleye topping the scale at 8 pounds, 4.3 ounces. The top billing pushes the duo into first place, ahead of Dan Griep and Bill Holland, who didn't boat a fish at Madison Lake.
Second place went to Chris Roemhildt and Dan Bunde, who netted two fish for a 3-pound, 6.6-ounce stringer. Third place went to Lloyd Tru and Ron Patterson, who weighed one fish at 3 pounds, 2.9 ounces.
Tim Hobbs, who helps organize the tournaments, said 21 boats registered for Tuesday's Madison Lake tournament with 38 anglers participating, a good number considering the rainy weather.
"After the first 45 minutes, it wasn't too bad," Hobbs said.
Next up, the walleye tourney heads to Lake Jefferson, which brings me to my next thought.
Big Jefferson
Went out fishing Thursday with my brother-in-law, Dave. We really wanted to mix things up and try a lake we don't normally fish, so we headed out to Big Jefferson (East Jeff for those of you still confused).
I'd heard the rumors of overgrown weeds and the difficulty the weeds were causing anglers, but until I saw it, there was no way to really understand how bad it has gotten.
If we were in 5 feet of water, there would be 6 feet-plus of weeds. Thirteen feet of water, 13 feet of weeds. In close, out deep, the weeds were everywhere.
We spent the first three hours battling the weeds and finding pockets to fish through. Dave, being a master of the mimic minnow (he contends there is a special skill for using this lure that involves twitching and jerking, something a straight retrieve can't mimic), hooked into a couple of stripers before catching a small walleye.
For me, nothing but a bullhead. Needless to say, the frustration level was high, so much so that even I tied on a mimic minnow, which led to my first largemouth of the outing.
The struggle got so bad that I'd contemplated calling it a day, and anyone who knows me knows I hate to leave a lake. With little hope for the lake and with a big list of complaints growing in my head (something I intended to vent about here in this blog), I suggested to Dave it was time to throw on a scum frog.
"Well, you better do it soon, cause we're running out of daylight," Dave said.
With the invitation, I tied on the old scum frog, more so because I just wanted to throw a lure that I wasn't going to pick weeds out of.
Within a minute I lost a bass. Within five minutes I had two bass on. During those last waning moments of daylight, I managed to pull in five bass, all pretty decent in size and all very violent on the bite.
What went from a horrible outing on Big Jeff turned into a pretty tasty day on the lake. I just wonder if we would have caught bass all day had we switched to that presentation earlier.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Waiting for word ...
I was trying to wait to do a blog post until I talked with Tim Hobbs to see how the third Tuesday Nite Walleye Tourney turned out.
Unfortunately, between our schedules, we haven't talked yet. So hang in there, I'm sure I will have an update at some point tonight or early tomorrow.
Until then, I briefly went fishing at a new spot today. This rather unique body of water has a lot to offer, I think. I hooked into a 2 1/2 pound bass within my first few casts.
I'm trying to track down some official information on this spot before I give you a more in-depth analysis. And perhaps, just maybe, I'll let you all know where it is.
I'm hearing the water temps are rising quickly. Free Press photographer John Cross was out on Lake Washington this past weekend, and he said it was easy to catch a limit of crappie. Makes sense, considering the water temps in 8 to 10 feet were 65 degrees.
As I discussed in my last post, the crappie spawn begins to cap off around 65 degrees, and the sunfish spawn should be in full mode. So go catch some panfish while the catchin' is good.
Lastly, I'll try to give a little update on Big Jefferson. Oh, excuse me, that's East Jeff for those of you who prefer directional names as opposed to sized names.
I've heard the weeds are pretty thick, but I've also heard the bass action is picking up. We'll see.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Hot and bothered ... about the spawn
I'm hearing a lot of people talking about the spawn being off for panfish and bass. I'm also hearing the panfish on most area lakes are hitting and hitting hard.
But one such angler recently said after a good run of sunfish on Madison Lake that upon cleaning them, the fish were all full of eggs.
Nearly three weeks ago, I caught a 19-inch bass that barely weighed 3 pounds. A female, its belly looked about as skinny as it could be, so I naturally figured the bass in the area had spawned.
Not even a week ago, I caught a 14-inch female bass in the same spot on the lake, and it was full of eggs.
So what does this all mean?
Well, personally, I think the weather has had a lot to do with it. Every time our area waters start to reach those magical temperatures, the weather gets cool or down right cold.
Think of this past week of weather. We were seeing 50s and 60s during the day, 40s and 50s at night. I think it's awfully tough for water temperatures to warm when there isn't enough warmth in the air to raise those temperatures.
I figure a good week of warm weather and sunshine should help finish off the spawn in the lake I fish most often, but in larger lakes, spawning stages will vary throughout the lake.
Which brings us back to the sunfish, which had surprised this angler. He figured the spawn should have already been done.
Considering sunfish spawn later than crappies and need warmer water to do so, I don't find it odd to see sunfish still spawning. Most of the temps I'm hearing from people in the area are low to mid 60s. This is just below the magic temps for sunfish, but a great temperature range for bass and crappies.
As for walleyes, well those tough, cold-water fish spawn when the water temps creep into the low 40s and ends when the temps reach 50ish. So walleye should be good to go.
One last thing on the spawning period of fish in our area. A long time ago, this guy fishing an area lake from shore decided to pass along some wisdom to me.
He told me to always concentrate my energies on the parts of the lake that warm fastest. So I went home and started researching what parts of a lake would logically warm the fastest.
Aside from the obvious shallow-water answer, I've learned something about as obvious — the northern and western parts of a lake warm faster because those parts of the lake soak up the most sunlight throughout the day.
So consider where you are fishing on that area lake. Could you be finding fish in the northern parts that have spawned, while the fish in the southern and eastern parts of the lake are spawning or are in the prespawn?
In all, make notes of the temps from the various parts of the lake you fish. Watch for shallows with temperatures in the IT zone, and go to work on those fish.
But one such angler recently said after a good run of sunfish on Madison Lake that upon cleaning them, the fish were all full of eggs.
Nearly three weeks ago, I caught a 19-inch bass that barely weighed 3 pounds. A female, its belly looked about as skinny as it could be, so I naturally figured the bass in the area had spawned.
Not even a week ago, I caught a 14-inch female bass in the same spot on the lake, and it was full of eggs.
So what does this all mean?
Well, personally, I think the weather has had a lot to do with it. Every time our area waters start to reach those magical temperatures, the weather gets cool or down right cold.
Think of this past week of weather. We were seeing 50s and 60s during the day, 40s and 50s at night. I think it's awfully tough for water temperatures to warm when there isn't enough warmth in the air to raise those temperatures.
I figure a good week of warm weather and sunshine should help finish off the spawn in the lake I fish most often, but in larger lakes, spawning stages will vary throughout the lake.
Which brings us back to the sunfish, which had surprised this angler. He figured the spawn should have already been done.
Considering sunfish spawn later than crappies and need warmer water to do so, I don't find it odd to see sunfish still spawning. Most of the temps I'm hearing from people in the area are low to mid 60s. This is just below the magic temps for sunfish, but a great temperature range for bass and crappies.
As for walleyes, well those tough, cold-water fish spawn when the water temps creep into the low 40s and ends when the temps reach 50ish. So walleye should be good to go.
One last thing on the spawning period of fish in our area. A long time ago, this guy fishing an area lake from shore decided to pass along some wisdom to me.
He told me to always concentrate my energies on the parts of the lake that warm fastest. So I went home and started researching what parts of a lake would logically warm the fastest.
Aside from the obvious shallow-water answer, I've learned something about as obvious — the northern and western parts of a lake warm faster because those parts of the lake soak up the most sunlight throughout the day.
So consider where you are fishing on that area lake. Could you be finding fish in the northern parts that have spawned, while the fish in the southern and eastern parts of the lake are spawning or are in the prespawn?
In all, make notes of the temps from the various parts of the lake you fish. Watch for shallows with temperatures in the IT zone, and go to work on those fish.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Fantasy fishing
I'll admit, I'm really a nerd when it comes to fishing.
The past few winters, I've spent time snuggling up to bass fishing books. The reading always helps me get over the anticipation of spring and the upcoming fishing seasons.
But last year, I discovered Fantasy Fishing by FLW. This changed how I read (at least in 2008) during the winter. I went from understanding bass biology to understanding who Shinichi Fukae and Michael Bennett were, and how a couple of Minnesota anglers could compete with the boys down south.
While 2009 hasn't drawn me in as much as last season, I'm still enjoying reading about fishing. Now, however, I find myself looking forward to the tournaments because I know I can follow live updates via Twitter.
I follow FLW magazine edtior Jason Sealock on Twitter, and the most current FLW tour tournament happens to be on Kentucky and Berkley Lakes. Sealock just happens to live near Kentucky Lake (he often tweets about Kentucky Lake from his personal fishing trips), so he's been very busy since Thursday tweeting live coverage.
Possibly one of the hardest things about following pro fishing, whether it be bass, walleye or crappie, is that TV coverage of these events always comes out long after the tournament is over.
With 200 some boats in these tournaments, it is easy to understand how difficult live coverage could be. But, at least in the bass tournaments, the field is pared down to 10 anglers.
Ten anglers. Seems to me an outdoors network somewhere could cover the first couple hours of the field of 10. But I don't see this happening anytime soon.
Which brings me back to Twitter. I hate to admit that I'm addicted to the posts from Sealock. I hate to admit that I've logged on religiously to Twitter since Thursday just to catch his updates.
But like a baseball game on the radio, I find the Twitter updates to be an excellent alternative to television coverage, and I will probably be following religiously again Sunday.
As I said, I'm a fishing nerd.
The past few winters, I've spent time snuggling up to bass fishing books. The reading always helps me get over the anticipation of spring and the upcoming fishing seasons.
But last year, I discovered Fantasy Fishing by FLW. This changed how I read (at least in 2008) during the winter. I went from understanding bass biology to understanding who Shinichi Fukae and Michael Bennett were, and how a couple of Minnesota anglers could compete with the boys down south.
While 2009 hasn't drawn me in as much as last season, I'm still enjoying reading about fishing. Now, however, I find myself looking forward to the tournaments because I know I can follow live updates via Twitter.
I follow FLW magazine edtior Jason Sealock on Twitter, and the most current FLW tour tournament happens to be on Kentucky and Berkley Lakes. Sealock just happens to live near Kentucky Lake (he often tweets about Kentucky Lake from his personal fishing trips), so he's been very busy since Thursday tweeting live coverage.
Possibly one of the hardest things about following pro fishing, whether it be bass, walleye or crappie, is that TV coverage of these events always comes out long after the tournament is over.
With 200 some boats in these tournaments, it is easy to understand how difficult live coverage could be. But, at least in the bass tournaments, the field is pared down to 10 anglers.
Ten anglers. Seems to me an outdoors network somewhere could cover the first couple hours of the field of 10. But I don't see this happening anytime soon.
Which brings me back to Twitter. I hate to admit that I'm addicted to the posts from Sealock. I hate to admit that I've logged on religiously to Twitter since Thursday just to catch his updates.
But like a baseball game on the radio, I find the Twitter updates to be an excellent alternative to television coverage, and I will probably be following religiously again Sunday.
As I said, I'm a fishing nerd.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
A couple of good reads
I was thinking the other day about information I could pass along to people about fishing. Mostly, I tend direct my writing to people who have loads of fishing experience.
But sometimes, I wonder if people stopping to read what I write need a little direction on what or how to fish. While I can't provide all the answer, I can help keep you informed when I come across a good site or article with quality fishing tips.
Two such articles come to mind. I subscribe to Gary Yamamoto's Ezine Newsletter, and I often find the articles by Russ Bassdozer to be pretty informative. Recently, he put together a must know for catching bass all summer long.
I also spend time reading what is going on in the world of fishing on Twitter. While I haven't quite figured out a practical use for Twitter because I like complete sentences and punctuation, a lot of people post interesting tweets about fishing.
But wear your hip waders, cuz the stink you're going to wade through to find the good tweets gets pretty deep.
One such exploration landed me on the Web site Fishing Moz, which breaks down different species of fish and gives tips and tactics.
I most recently read a pretty good crappie article that gives basic crappie fishing advice, but takes into account that location plays a factor into how you chase a crappie. If crappies are your thing, I suggest giving it a read.
I'm sure reading fishing how-tos isn't nearly as fun as just hitting the lake and practicing what you already know. But sometimes, when you come across a good read, you'll find yourself putting those tactics into play during an outing on the lake.
And if any of those tricks work, well, they'll become part of your everyday arsenal.
But sometimes, I wonder if people stopping to read what I write need a little direction on what or how to fish. While I can't provide all the answer, I can help keep you informed when I come across a good site or article with quality fishing tips.
Two such articles come to mind. I subscribe to Gary Yamamoto's Ezine Newsletter, and I often find the articles by Russ Bassdozer to be pretty informative. Recently, he put together a must know for catching bass all summer long.
I also spend time reading what is going on in the world of fishing on Twitter. While I haven't quite figured out a practical use for Twitter because I like complete sentences and punctuation, a lot of people post interesting tweets about fishing.
But wear your hip waders, cuz the stink you're going to wade through to find the good tweets gets pretty deep.
One such exploration landed me on the Web site Fishing Moz, which breaks down different species of fish and gives tips and tactics.
I most recently read a pretty good crappie article that gives basic crappie fishing advice, but takes into account that location plays a factor into how you chase a crappie. If crappies are your thing, I suggest giving it a read.
I'm sure reading fishing how-tos isn't nearly as fun as just hitting the lake and practicing what you already know. But sometimes, when you come across a good read, you'll find yourself putting those tactics into play during an outing on the lake.
And if any of those tricks work, well, they'll become part of your everyday arsenal.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
No, I haven't forgotten you
Been a little busy lately. Not so much at the newspaper, but catching up with my family, my fishing hole.
I'm a sucker for going out fishing on my day off. Rain or shine, you can bet I'll be out somewhere working for bass.
The cold front killed off a lot of the bite, but I have to admit, the bite hasn't been that great. Some days things seem to be picking up, other days, I wonder if I shouldn't be doing something different.
Fishing-wise that is. I still value my time on the water, and I better mention now, I value my wife for allowing me that time on the water.
See, she's the key to the entire thing; without her I wouldn't be able to fish as often as I do, and let me tell you, I fish often.
So I'll quickly break down what's been working the last couple of weeks of fishing. The Texas rig has picked up. I'm seeing a lot of good hits on the 7 inch, blue fleck PowerBait worm. I'm also seeing a lot of hits on a 7 inch, Gander Mountain ripple tail worm in the crawfish orange swirl color.
Stick worms have worked well. I don't fish the 5" Yamamoto Senkos, but that's mainly because of the price. I know the baits will last me a while, so the investment is good, but when I can pick up a few Strike King, 5" stick for cheap at Wal-Mart, it's a no-brainer. The money I save can go to hooks, or more worms, or sinkers, or a spinnerbait.
Or perhaps, to a treat for my son. The options are limitless.
Anyhow, back to lures. I've continued to have success on my white, triple-blade Strike King buzzbait. Chartreuse and white/chartreuse spinnerbaits have worked well. Where I'm fishing, the crankbaits are slow, but mostly because of the weeds and snags.
The fish are finicky right now. Some days, slow, slow, slow, finessing with jigs and Texas rigs. The next day, the bass want something active. Some days they want neither and aggravating them seems to be the only option.
All I know is I'm ready for the a change in the weather. I'm betting that'll do the trick.
I'm a sucker for going out fishing on my day off. Rain or shine, you can bet I'll be out somewhere working for bass.
The cold front killed off a lot of the bite, but I have to admit, the bite hasn't been that great. Some days things seem to be picking up, other days, I wonder if I shouldn't be doing something different.
Fishing-wise that is. I still value my time on the water, and I better mention now, I value my wife for allowing me that time on the water.
See, she's the key to the entire thing; without her I wouldn't be able to fish as often as I do, and let me tell you, I fish often.
So I'll quickly break down what's been working the last couple of weeks of fishing. The Texas rig has picked up. I'm seeing a lot of good hits on the 7 inch, blue fleck PowerBait worm. I'm also seeing a lot of hits on a 7 inch, Gander Mountain ripple tail worm in the crawfish orange swirl color.
Stick worms have worked well. I don't fish the 5" Yamamoto Senkos, but that's mainly because of the price. I know the baits will last me a while, so the investment is good, but when I can pick up a few Strike King, 5" stick for cheap at Wal-Mart, it's a no-brainer. The money I save can go to hooks, or more worms, or sinkers, or a spinnerbait.
Or perhaps, to a treat for my son. The options are limitless.
Anyhow, back to lures. I've continued to have success on my white, triple-blade Strike King buzzbait. Chartreuse and white/chartreuse spinnerbaits have worked well. Where I'm fishing, the crankbaits are slow, but mostly because of the weeds and snags.
The fish are finicky right now. Some days, slow, slow, slow, finessing with jigs and Texas rigs. The next day, the bass want something active. Some days they want neither and aggravating them seems to be the only option.
All I know is I'm ready for the a change in the weather. I'm betting that'll do the trick.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)