Had a few hours finally when work fell through and the kid visiting GMA and GPA . I recently went to Michigan to see my mom's side and on the way back hit up the awesome Cabela's in Dundee. I didn't get to shop half as much as I wanted due to a screaming daughter and aggravated mama. But I guess it saved me money, lol still managed to spend 80 dollars. 

 

I was hoping to dump my kayak in a local lake and maybe hook into a pike. But with a storm rolling in and precious minutes ticking by, I opted for a 3 acre pond only a few miles from my house.. I caught around 10. And probably lost 5 or so..  one decent one at the bank. Anyway they All were in the 1-2 pound class range. I know there are some bruisers in there due to recent years success. But today wasn't the day. Most of the fish looked healthy. Kind of a small mouth but decent body. And they were on the move. Every strike I had except one I was moving my baits fairly quickly. And they were hitting everything. I caught 2 on the fat ika. One on a chatterbait, 3 on a neko rigged 5" kut tail worm, 1 on a neko GY craw, and the other few came on a bait I recently purchased at Cabela's. It was from a brand I never heard of but decided to try them anyway. And I'm glad I did because they worked well on a j-rig.  No hogs, but a success.not my first fish of 2017 but my first bass thumb. Excited for the rest of the season 

 

Here's a pic of the hot lure of the day. It's a "FYAO" devil bug. A hellgrammite look alike. And everyone that struck, choked it and was brought to the bank. 

 

They all looked about like this. I can't wait to get out there again. 

Am I the only one who has no free time ? Lol. And when I do finally get it, it's mostly spent with family !! 

 

So many responsibilities and such little time !! Welcome to fatherhood young man ! 

 

Work this week has been a haul to get to . Good thing is though I pass a small park and I noticed trail signs and a small bridge over running 2 small ponds. I had a hope there was a bass inside..

 

I brought my travel rod and a small pack to work today . A 2 piece Berkley with a cheap ardent spinning reel. 15lb braid and a small 1/4oz swim jig. When I creeped up to the bank and made my first cast, I spooked a small school of baitfish (which I seen later were bluegill) and  this heightened my suspicion of bass in the pond. I worked my bait modestly and was confident I was going to catch something. But unfortunately, No takers on the jig so I decided to try a small paddle tail, and a hellgrammite bug that I j-rigged off the bottom. I kept bringing back a bunch of green slime , every cast no matter what. I was feeling a little desperate because of time. I couldn't stay long and I had already been here a half hour.  I knew I had to get off the bottom.. 

 

so I decided to ditch the weight and use a 4" senko. This is an extreme confidence bait of mine ( both the 4&5"), no matter how I fish them. I love using braid and letting the senko fall on slack line. When I let the braid rest on top of the water strike detection is usually very obvious. I have a plethora of senkos, More than a few years supply when I use o-rings and mend-it. But I am always forcing myself to use other things...  Because other baits catch fish too and it's a cool feeling catching them different ways ! 

 

I went for the 4" because at this point I just wanted a bite... I didn't have all day and I was tired , hungry and cold... I used a trusted color of mine that has produced in rivers, lakes and ponds in more than a few States. Red with bright red flake. I wacky rigged it and stuck two bass right by the bridge just as it was getting dark. They were nice for the pond and I was impressed.