bp_fowler

This right here. 👆

Explored a new pond today. Bit of a hike getting back in there. Lows 70s, partly cloudy with winds out of the south at 4 mph. Caught a fish on my first cast. Would’ve been two but one flopped off as I landed them. That was a recurring issue. I caught 27 would have been in the 30s if not for that. This pond was loaded with bass but there was a problem. All of the fish I caught except for one was a dink. Here’s the largest. And here’s another double I caught later in the opposite bank. Most were caught with the Choppo. Tried out the POP-R and caught my fair share on that as well. Tried to throw a Spook but I think it was too much for my rod.

@Swamp Girl 6 lbs 6oz. Or as she likes to point out, a lot bigger than mine 😂

Unfortunately I haven’t been able to get out lately. However in honor of Mother’s Day, here’s my mom with her PB.

Just the calm before the storm. Hang in there and things will break your way.

I have some, even brought them with me today. Some poppers to. The smart thing to do would’ve been to try out those as well but I was having too much fun with the plopper. I’m sure I’ll get my chance. Who knows maybe I’ll try a Buzzbait or even…. a frog.

Went out to AEP early this morning. Not normally an early morning angler but today’s objective was to catch a fish on topwater so I wanted the odds in my favor. Low 50s when I got there. Winds out of the north at 2 MPH. The forecasted cloud deck never showed up. Canoe cart hasn’t shown up yet but I doubt it would’ve done me any good in the steep terrain. Fortunately the grass was wet with the morning dew and made a nice slick surface for me to drag it down to the front pond. Once I launched I had a strike on my first cast with the Choppo and a dink on my second. First topwater fish. I caught it next to some reeds and he had friends. After that I moved on to the Beaver pond but despite multiple strikes best I could manage was a few more dinks. The sun was getting higher in the sky so I relocated to another long and narrow pond figuring that the high sides would throw a nice shadow. While the shade lasted I caught several more dinks and had a few more blow ups but nothing to write home about. With the sun almost directly overhead I called it a day satisfied that I had finally managed to break the topwater curse.

Great looking fish. I especially like it when their belly hangs over the edge of the bump board. I absolutely love a good Spinnerbait bite. It is hands down my favorite lure to fish. The strikes are just so violent. Also it tends to catch bigger fish for me too.

Hopefully the first of many!

Actual video of @Pat Brown 11.5 # bass jumping. Congrats!

Fished today for a few hours. Last 24 has been rain non stop and a bit cooler. Low 60s and overcast with winds from the south at 5 mph. Fished Lake St. Joesph today. It’s been awhile since I’ve been there. The water had been very low but with all the rain it was higher than normal. I should’ve tied on a jig and hit the flooded cover but I got lazy and don’t bother to change out my tackle after my last few successful outings to AEP. I paid the price and was only able to grind out two fish on two bites. A rotund dink and a channel cat.

Few more weeks and you’ll be lights out again with 30-40 bass days. I have no doubt.

@MIbassyaker your 5lber looks like it could beat up my 5lber and take its lunch money. 😂

Fished a pair of smaller ponds today. Mid 70s, partly cloudy and winds at 11 mph out of the SW. Heavy rains had added a little color to the water so it wasn’t its usual ultra clear. Different ponds than yesterday and didn’t catch yesterday’s numbers. Still got double digit dinkage and a handful of nice ones. Same baits as yesterday, GP Mini Max and GP stupid tube. Unlike yesterday the tube caught the majority of the fish. The bank across from the on e that I was fishing look really bassy. Over hanging bushes, lay downs, and under cut banks. It was just close enough that I could get the tube into there. After I had made one such cast I noticed a big fish cruising shallow right in from of me. I burned my tube back towards killed it and let it fall about 2ft in front of the bass and she took the bait. After I got her up on the bank I weighed her at 5.17lbs. I caught a few more dinks after that and headed back home.

I’m impressed by your ability to fish from a canoe in that kind of wind. For me it’s frustrating trying to control the canoe and while making accurate casts. I think I’m going to try your way and let the wind work for me instead of fighting it. Wind drift towards my target and then circle back for another pass.

@Susky River Rat Happy Birthday!

Favorable weather conditions and small bodies were I have acres to the majority of the bank equals a great day.

Visited the the same ponds at AEP I was at earlier this week. Only difference was I fished them in reverse order. I got there at about noon. Temps in the high 70s, cloudy skies, and winds out of the ssw at 8 mph. I caught 27 between the two ponds. 13 at the first pond. The first two on the stupid tube the rest on the green pumpkin mini max. All of them were dinks these two being the only two worth a photo op. The fist one I caught off the edge of a shallow flat and the second off the edge of a different shallow flat. I made my way to the next pond by way of a game trail down to the bank I had yet to fish. The terrain was steep and difficult plus the vegetation was pretty thick. I managed to locate two spots just big enough to stand on but my casting arc was severely limited. Nonetheless I caught two from that bank, one from each spot. From there I moved on to the cattails which had yielded a few bigger fish the first time I was there. I hooked one on my first cast. As I was fighting to get it to the bank a second larger fish popped out from under the cattails. I unhooked the first one snapped a pic and released him. I immediately casted past the bigger fish and burned the vibrating jig right past its face. As I hoped the fish hit it immediately. I fought it to the edge of the cattails and as I tried to figure a way to get it through or over the top of them boom it was gone with shake of its head. I was disappointed as it would’ve been my biggest of the day. I continued fishing down the bank towards a point 30 or 40 yards away with a shallow flat between. I cast along the bank and towards light and dark spots I could discern out in the middle. I’m guessing the light areas are where the Chara that blankets the bottom didn’t take hold, and the dark spots were deeper holes in the otherwise shallow bottom of the pond. I target the edges of these spots and came away with another few decent fish. Finally I made it to the other side of the point and continued casting towards the deep holes and bald spots. Catching a few more before I called it a day.

Caught My PB with this bait.

Fishing from the bank? I love it. I’ll go out of my way to seek out a wind blown bank. Fishing from the canoe? I hate it. I won’t launch if it means I’ll spend more time with a paddle in my hand than a rod.

Every time I see one of @Pat Brown posts where he’s holding up his fish I have to remind myself that the man stands 6’4”. So what looks like a nice bass next to Pat, would be a giant next to an average sized human.

I have the spinning model 7’ M/F. Yes it does feel a bit stiffer than other medium spinning rods. I don’t mind though. I’ve found it’s niche for me is Wacky rigs, Shaky Heads, Tubes and such around somewhat heavier vegetation than I’d normally be comfortable using a spinning rod.

Went out early this morning. I caught 5 in three hours between two different lakes. Low 60s and mostly cloudy. Winds out of the SW at 15 mph and gusts up to 35. First up was Flagdale lake. This was only the third time I’ve fished it. It’s a tough one to bank fish with limited access. Fortunately that access is on the eastern bank which has a large shallow flat extending all the way to the upper end. Normally this is covered in pads and weeds but this early in the year it’s still relatively sparse enough to fish. With the wind blowing into it I thought it was my best shot. I caught a decent one on the Mayor a few casts in. But after that my only other fish was a dink closer to the end. Frustratingly I could see fish busting bait on the surface outside of my casting range. I’m guessing they were hanging out closer to break line and not really up on the flat like I had hoped. After that it was still relatively early so I decided to check out Flagdale’s sister lake Twin Churches, which I had never been to. Pulling up to the boat ramp I could see this lake was even more weedy than its neighbor. I walked the service road back towards the dam hoping to find some open water to cast to. I found a gap between the bank and weeds closer to the overflow that I was able to get the Mayor into and was rewarded with another dink. Made my way up onto the d**n and noticed the weeds were somewhat thinner near the spillway and that was open and had some current. I sent the Mayor into the spot in front of the spillway and got maybe two turns of the reel handle before something hit it. after a bit of a struggle getting the hooked fish through the weeds to shore I was pleased to see another decent bass. Working my way back towards my truck I decided to change it up. I tied on a wacky rig and began tossing it into gaps and holes in the weeds. I almost made it all the way back to the ramp with no bites. But got another one that hit it so quickly and hard I must have dropped the Senko right on its head. Called it a day after that. Figure I’ll be back. Probably with the canoe. Place definitely looks like frog country.

Wasn’t planning on fishing today but plans fell through so I hit up the first pond I was at yesterday and brought my nephew along. Much cooler after yesterday’s front rolled through. Low to mid 50s. Still overcast with a lot breeze. I caught five with a few that probably would have been better had they not been spawned out. Caught my first one a dink with the light 1/15 oz Ned. It did a good job staying on top of the weeds as I had hoped but after the first fish I decided to try a light Texas rig, 1/16oz on a 2/0 hook. I tried a finesse worm, speed worm, and trick worm all in green pumpkin with the speed worm winning out. My nephew out fished me however and got two PBs in row with a 2.18 and a 2.8.

I will do my best going forward to do so. As for bait selection that’s a subject that has been constantly evolving as I have grown as an angler. Here’s my template as things stand right now. First thing I tend to look at is what the predominant cover is in a given body of water. I group this into three categories: hard vegetation (wood), soft vegetation (weeds/grass), and rocks. I then select baits in three different categories: bottom baits, moving baits, and finesse/light line presentation. Each different category of cover has is own techniques that I prefer. For example: soft vegetation I would start off using a vibrating/bladed jig for my moving bait. For a bottom bait a Texas-rigged worm would get the call. As for finesse I would start with a shaky head. For wood cover I would go with a spinner bait for my moving baits and a jig for bottom contact. Rocks? Crankbait and Texas-rigged craw. Color is of course dictated by water clarity and predominant forage. Unfortunately it’s not that always that simple. Some bodies of water have none of the above or all of the above in some combination. I also have to take into consideration weather, light conditions and fishing pressure. Which as you already know is a concern here in my part of the country. I think it’s also worth mentioning that these templates are just a starting point. I’m going to change things up if my plan A doesn’t work. That brings me to today. Previous experience had shown me that the big baits either mid water column or on the bottom were not working. Fishing pressure combined with clear water meant that I was pretty much going to have to grind it out with finesse presentations if I expected to catch anything. This is why I only brought two spinning rods with me. To me, it was only a question of which finesse presentation was going to work. Granted, it’s debatable whether or not things like fluke or soft plastic paddle tail swim baits are “finesse”. I think as anglers we tend to think of clear water as a negative. Understandably so because in most cases it is. But today it allowed me to experiment and see how the fish reacted to various lures and through process of elimination select the ones that gave me the best chance of getting bit. Especially since the ponds that I were fishing didn’t fit neatly into my templates.