Russ E

Not from Toledo bend, but around here if it is windy in the summer, I look for wind blown main lake points. Bait fish will often congregate on these points. Bass will usually follow. I start out fairly shallow. and work my way out to the deeper water, watching the graph to see what depth the baitfish are congregating. usually start out with a bait that makes noise or has a lot of vibration. crankbaits, chatterbaits,or spinnerbaits.

I know there are several variations to the ned rig, but I thought that all came about with the recent popularity. I did not realize, the original Midwest finesse guys, used so many different baits. I always thought they kept the bait selections to a bare minimum and just varied the retrieve.

^^^^ what he said it is as expensive as you want to make it.

I use a shakyhead around rock. Like everyone else said Texas rig in weeds. The old monster works great in summer. Very good big bass bait. 2 thing different with big worms is, 1: I use a big hook. usually 5/0 2: you have to give the fish time to get it all in his mouth, before you set the hook. I usually wait 2 or 3 seconds before setting the hook. Often times if you set the hook instantly after you feel a bite, you will bring back 1/2 of a worm.

I only fish lakes. 1/16 oz. is the only weight I use. (1/15 oz. if it is a Shroomz head) You can fish from shallow down to 10-12 feet. if the weight is too heavy, it takes away from the baits action. If I need to finesse fish deeper, I switch over to a drop shot. If fishing current I would go heavier.

Most waters that have slot limits are overpopulated with small fish. They want you to keep the smaller fish. Some states allow tournament fishermen to weigh in a limit of fish that are over the state minimum length limit, on lakes with special regulations. they do have to be released after weigh in.

hit La Cygne this morning. decided to try a 6XD on a couple ledges. caught 2 drum 2 catfish and an angry gar. switched over to a zoom ol monster and got 5 bass in the boat. these were the 2 biggest. 3.2 and 4lbs.

What impressed me most about Ned is he is 78 years old and still pursuing those 100 bass days. The day I met him, They only caught 48. A slow day I guess ?. hope I can do that when I reach that age.

I was walking up the boat ramp to get my truck and met Ned Kahde standing in his boat. I had seen him on the lake several times but, our paths never crossed. he had just finished for the day and struck a conservation on fishing that day. Not surprisingly, he caught twice as many fish as I did. what did surprise me is how modest he is. He is a wealth of knowledge and is willing to share everything. One thing I did learn from him. Is the midwest finesse system is more than just a mushroom head with a TRD or Zinkerz. they use several different baits on the mushroom head. He also does not call it the ned rig. As we parted ways he gave me a Z man prototype bait called the TRD Crawz. it goes on the mushroom head just like a standard TRD (it should be on the market in late summer) Looks Like it has a lot of potential. Here is the TRD Crawz next to a standard TRD.

Not here in the Midwest. Mercury, Nitrates and phosphates are just a few of the reasons not to drink surface water . Life straw will not remove them. lifestraw and others like it, only remove bacteria and protozoa. unless you are in the back country away from any human activity , I would carry your own water.

Don't have a favorite. I try to let conditions determine what I use. My most successful, for quality fish, is a trick worm on a shakyhead.

like everyone else stated any lure for a largemouth will work for samllmouth. A few local lakes here have a mix of both. often times you catch them in the same place on the same lures. I caught both of my largest smallmouths on a shakyhead with a zoom trick worm. Was not specifically targeting smallmouths either time.

I am the same way. I have bass fished for nearly 40 years. I can catch a ton of small fish 5 minutes away at Wyandotte. I have no problem fishing all day for 1 or 2 big bites. the 1 hour drive to La Cygne is well worth the potential for 1 big fish. Most local bass fishermen I have talked to, don't like La Cygne. They fish it once or twice and leave disappointed.

while I don't have near the experience on this lake as you, I am slowly starting to learn the quirks of this lake. One day it can make you wonder if there are any bass in the lake. The next it can seem like bass fishing Nirvana.

day started out tough at La Cygne. lost first four fish. All were in the 3-4 pound range. Day immediately got better when I landed this big girl. it was the only fish I got in the boat today. 23 inches long. 7lb 11oz. caught it on a belly weighted fluke. in about 12 foot of water. Just noticed Bassmaster magazine ranked La Cygne number 10 in the central region for best bass lakes of 2018. Hope this does not start a mass exodus of boats to this already pressured lake.

caught my new personal best today,on a belly weighted fluke,at a Kansas power plant lake. beat my old personal best, that I caught 25 years ago in an Iowa farm pond, by 1/2 lb. 22 1/2 inches long 7lb 11oz. (weighed it on 2 different scales one read 7lb 13 oz. the other read 7lb 11oz.) I wonder what it weighed this spring when it was full of eggs.

never heard of shadow lake. Is it a private lake, similar to lake Quivira.

I use the zoom ol monster for a ribbon tail worm. the magnum trick worm for a straight tail worm. not sure why, but the trick worm often out fishes the ribbon tail around here.

air temp was 95 degrees water temp was 93 degrees. Still managed to catch my Largest bass of 2018, from a tough Kansas power plant lake, that has skunked me more than once. 21 inches 5lb. 12oz.

fished La Cygne today. water temp in north half of lake was over 100 degrees. found some 93 degrees water on the southern end. caught nine bass total. 6 short fish in the shallows. One anorexic 18 incher that weighed 2 lbs. off of the dam, on a swim jig. These 2 on a trick worm in 10ft. of water, off of a rip rap point. one was 21 inches 5lb. 12oz. (my largest of 2018). the other was 19 inches 4lb. 8oz.

I believe it is to cut down on transporting nuisance species, like zebra mussels

Fortunately my boat has a remote drain plug. Twice while in a hurry to launch the boat I forgot to close it. luckily I heard the water gurgling and quickly closed it.

Took a short trip to Olathe this morning. Water was dirty from last nights rain. All that would bite in the water willows, were sunfish. took 2 hours to catch first bass. found a few hanging out in 10-15ft. along rock bluffs. . Caught six total. all around 2.5 lbs. Could only get them to bite the Ned Rig. Fished painfully slow. below are the first three.

that is a fat gar. I hooked into a few while bass fishing the Rock creek arm of Perry. they were nowhere near the size of that fish. They are a tough fish to hook. Most of the time they get off before I get them into the boat.

1:you let the bait fall to the bottom. 2:then reel a couple cranks to lift the bait off of the bottom. 3: let it glide back to the bottom while shaking the rod. This technique works well if the bottom is fairly clean. If there are a lot of weeds I usually don't let it touch bottom. I try to keep it just above the weeds.