retro basser Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 Bass finally happened this Sunday. Touchdown Jesus! I noticed that the water temps finally hit 60 pretty much all across the lake at leavenworth and Mr. Bass was holding to cover much closer to the bank and shallower, at least during mid-day. I'm also thinking maybe part of why I havent had as much luck until Sunday is because i havent gotten out there till after 5 the other times and missed that nice 1-3PM warm part of the day. I wonder if that's a real key early in the season. I had almost instant success with a senko i let tumble down a rocky point, then I got clever, decided this was the day, and tried a whole bunch of other lures, wasted all sorts of time experimenting. Of course I didnt catch anything till I went right back to the senko. you guys ever have those days? It was good to have something work and feel like the season is here. Cant wait to hit it again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris311 Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 Getfished nice slabs!! I went to Hillsdale to see what was cooking Sunday. WT 56-57, One bass about 2 pounds, one catfish by mistake around 3 pounds all on live bait, got board and trolled for a while and we where nailing white bass in 12 to 20 feet of water on rapala's green and white and purple and white. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Global Moderator Bluebasser86 Posted April 19, 2011 Global Moderator Share Posted April 19, 2011 Getfished nice slabs!! I went to Hillsdale to see what was cooking Sunday. WT 56-57, One bass about 2 pounds, one catfish by mistake around 3 pounds all on live bait, got board and trolled for a while and we where nailing white bass in 12 to 20 feet of water on rapala's green and white and purple and white. Anyone catching any walleye while you were out there? We caught a couple at Melvern Sunday but man that wind was terrible and the fishing was pretty slow too. I've been wanted to go down there but the bad thing is if the walleye aren't biting then there isn't much to fall back on. Those are some pretty healthy looking whites it looks like! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris311 Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 Anyone catching any walleye while you were out there? We caught a couple at Melvern Sunday but man that wind was terrible and the fishing was pretty slow too. I've been wanted to go down there but the bad thing is if the walleye aren't biting then there isn't much to fall back on. Those are some pretty healthy looking whites it looks like! Thats what went there for using live minnows but never could find the bite, fished Hillsdale point and ran all the way into the back on the other side of the bridge of Gardner Road, what a beeatch getting out of that heck hole with the wind blowing and no channel markers to go by! I did not see anyone catch any walley most where crappie fishing in the trees or by the Antioch boat ramp. On the way in I picked up a patch of whites on the FF and the troll was on! Of course there was a guy at the boat ramp that told us about his 27 and 30 incher he caught last weekend!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User KU_Bassmaster. Posted April 19, 2011 Author Super User Share Posted April 19, 2011 Anyone catching any walleye while you were out there? We caught a couple at Melvern Sunday but man that wind was terrible and the fishing was pretty slow too. I've been wanted to go down there but the bad thing is if the walleye aren't biting then there isn't much to fall back on. Those are some pretty healthy looking whites it looks like! I will second the wind on Melvern on Sunday. Wow!!! Almost had a disaster in the dam around 10:30 with that "hurricane" that whipped through. Wind was pushing us into the rocks and the trolling motor prop was coming out of the water so it was pretty much usesless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Global Moderator Bluebasser86 Posted April 20, 2011 Global Moderator Share Posted April 20, 2011 Thats what went there for using live minnows but never could find the bite, fished Hillsdale point and ran all the way into the back on the other side of the bridge of Gardner Road, what a beeatch getting out of that heck hole with the wind blowing and no channel markers to go by! I did not see anyone catch any walley most where crappie fishing in the trees or by the Antioch boat ramp. On the way in I picked up a patch of whites on the FF and the troll was on! Of course there was a guy at the boat ramp that told us about his 27 and 30 incher he caught last weekend!! A friend of mine who used to fish the PWT caught an 8 1/2 pounder down there a week or two ago on a rattletrap. He swears there's nothing to it, just go to the dam and throw cranks until you get a bite. My luck I'd be there all day tossing cranks and never get bit. I will second the wind on Melvern on Sunday. Wow!!! Almost had a disaster in the dam around 10:30 with that "hurricane" that whipped through. Wind was pushing us into the rocks and the trolling motor prop was coming out of the water so it was pretty much usesless. We stayed pretty much to the south side of the lake by the dam but I decided to try the dam around 2pm since nobody was on it. Usually it seems like the waves bounce off the dam and you get an area of almost slack water because of the waves and rebounding waves hitting each other. That was not the case Sunday. I had a couple waves that came over the front of the boat a little bit and that was all I wanted to deal with. Wasn't catching much off the dam anyways. Did you do any good down there? It was slow but steady all day for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User KU_Bassmaster. Posted April 20, 2011 Author Super User Share Posted April 20, 2011 No it was slow for us too, I think the most we caught in the same general area was 2. Had 6 total for the day. Everything was very small. I did have one come unbuttoned near the boat that I believe was a little better fish, but aren't they all. Had several pretty good hits on crankbaits, but could never get hooked up. All but one were caught on jigs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris311 Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Went to Hillsdale Saturday with my son looking for Bass and Walleye but we ran into large White Bass thick! WT 57 all caught on rattle trap 1/2 oz blue gil color. Cooler pic is of some of the larger Whites, the crappie in the pic measured 11 inches. Was a great day my son ended up with 3 bandaids!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Global Moderator Bluebasser86 Posted April 27, 2011 Global Moderator Share Posted April 27, 2011 Went to Hillsdale Saturday with my son looking for Bass and Walleye but we ran into large White Bass thick! WT 57 all caught on rattle trap 1/2 oz blue gil color. Cooler pic is of some of the larger Whites, the crappie in the pic measured 11 inches. Was a great day my son ended up with 3 bandaids!! Those are some nice whites Chris! That's great that you were able to get your son in on some fishing like that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Getfished Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 Hey Chris. your son won't forget that day. Those whites are great action. My crappie bite fell off the last 10 days. Anyway I haven't looked for em since this weather got funky. I went out this morning for a short while. I forgot my sweatshirt so I was back home by 10:30. It was cold and blustery and to top it off I had a wire switched on my batteries and could only get 12 volts. What a pain ! I did manage to get 3 bites but only one worth admiring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Global Moderator Bluebasser86 Posted April 28, 2011 Global Moderator Share Posted April 28, 2011 Hey Chris. your son won't forget that day. Those whites are great action. My crappie bite fell off the last 10 days. Anyway I haven't looked for em since this weather got funky. I went out this morning for a short while. I forgot my sweatshirt so I was back home by 10:30. It was cold and blustery and to top it off I had a wire switched on my batteries and could only get 12 volts. What a pain ! I did manage to get 3 bites but only one worth admiring. Nice fish! Where'd you get her at? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Getfished Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Nice fish! Where'd you get her at? Banner Creek. The water there is still 51 degrees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris311 Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Thanks guys!! It was one of those days where the big man up stairs smiled on us!!! We where the only boat fishing the dam. My son has been fishing with me since he was 2, so now at 6 he is an old pro!! Getfished if your only gonna get a few bites thats the way they should look!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slowpoke274 Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 took my nephews to george owens today the bucks are starting to lock in on the nests so they both got a taste of sight fishing today they are for sure hooked now. they both caught four each in as many hours nothing too big 13 to 14 inchers but fun none the less cant wait for them to get a shot at some big females when they make the move Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User KU_Bassmaster. Posted May 2, 2011 Author Super User Share Posted May 2, 2011 That's good to hear. Just in time for my week off. I try to plan it that way, but thought I might be a little early this year with all this cold weather. I did see one on Saturday at Lone Star, but he was not very locked on. Usually by this time of year they are everywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Getfished Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 I looked for em on the bank Sunday but no go. I moverd out to about 6-8 ft. and bam ! My wife was first and then I picked up 2 more. I was using a 6" Blue Tightlines UV Hog. Put it on the bottom and leave it there. I absolutely suck at this type of fishing. I'm always in a hurry. It ended up being a pretty good day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slowpoke274 Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 its a small pond maybe half an acre so it warms early but they are definitely making the move its closed on mondays but im taking the boys back tomorrow so they can catch some more waiting for bowlin road pond to turn on now there are some trout fed monsters in that one about two weeks ago when we had thse warmer sunny days i saw two that were for sure 8 to 9 lbs each cruising but couldnt get them to hit anything when it turns on tjen i know the strip pits in clinton will be ripe for the picking i love the spawn best fishing of the year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris311 Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Jake and i went back to our honey hole Saturday, great weather, a few more boats than last time but they where on the crappie bite. Fished the same set up as last time, 10 nice whites and a 19 inch Walley for our efforts. WT 61.9 all caught on the same crank bait, will post a pic, maybe time to replace this one!! NOT!! Jet Skis and circle drivers showed up about 2pm! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retro basser Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 That's awesome Chris. You can tell he's gettin a big kick out of it. My daughter loves to tell me you can catch 6 fish on double treble hooks...not sure I'm ready to trust her with one on her rod though Jet-skiiers remind me of the cast of jersey shore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris311 Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Jet-skiiers remind me of the cast of jersey shore. Thats funny!! This one guy just kept going back and fourth as fast as he could go, then a guy pulling a tube showed up and then the 30 foot Baja and a jet boat, and was like time to pack it on this spot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Global Moderator Bluebasser86 Posted May 14, 2011 Global Moderator Share Posted May 14, 2011 I've been staying a little closer to home lately trying to save money for a trip my wife and I are about to take. I've been to Olathe lake twice and Cedar Lake once. Olathe hasn't been a bad to me as usual, I've managed to catch over 10 fish each trip which is kind of my benchmark for a good day on that lake. Nothing big, an 18" fish was the biggest so far. Cedar was better to me than usual also, fished for 2 1/2 hours and caught 9. All of them were solid fish over 15" up to 18". I don't ever feel like I've figured anything out on these lakes, just managed to catch a few this time. Seems like I catch them on something different everytime I go. Anyone else fish these lakes that regularly does well or are these lakes just always hit or miss? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris311 Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 Saturday was a complete wash out, Hillsdale looked like the east coast of florida, only thing missing was surfers! Went Sunday with a buddy to his honey hole, fished out of a 8 foot bass hound, here a few pics of the nicer ones, all fish caught on a KVD square bill crankbait 2.5 tenn shad color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retro basser Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 Seems like the waves were always a little bigger in the old bass hound I used to have too. It was kinda fun if you can keep your stuff organized. See it's interesting to me you guys are getting them on the cranks so often. Either my cranks suck, i'm not presenting well, or my lake they arent quite as agressive (yet?). It seems more of my fish have been on plastics fished slow or smaller presentations like swimming a 3' grub. It seems more redear sunfish will hit a crank but the bass need to grow a pair and chase something down. What depths are you targeting? Are you finding a likely spot and hitting them till they see it or just normal search fishing? I might try lonestar instead, this leavenworth lake might see more than it's fair share of pressure. I never have very good luck on big water it seems or I'd try Perry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris311 Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 Retro, The bass hound was my buddys he keeps at his honey hole. As for your question on crankbaits, I just try and match the hatch of the bait fish (color of crankbait), if the water is colder I just slow up my retrieve with the crankbait. If I am in 10 feet of water I am fishing any where from 5 feet to the bottom. Even better if I can bounce the crankbait off of cover or rocks. As for a quality crankbait I will spend any where from $3 to $12 on one. When you see them on sale get as many as you can afford. Cabelas had Yo-Zuri crankbaits reduced from $12 to $2.99 a while back and Bass Pro had those KVD's for $2.99 from $5.99. I just wish those Spro Little Johns would go on sale!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retro basser Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 Hey Chris, thanks for getting back That sounds like a good way to go with the cranks. I might be fishing a little deeper than that too often. I'll try to get 'er in close to the bank so I can hit bottom and structure more. Come to think of it they probably resemble a crawfish real well sifting through the mud on the bottom. I loaded up on those yo-zuri's too. They're cool looking lures for sure. I got a bunch of the deep divers and a kinda neat pin-minnow that would be fun to throw ultralight sometime. I think I'm not taking enough chances getting in close and risking getting hung up. Even if I bought it on sale I still kick myself for losing a $12 retail lure. Fishing shouldnt have to be a rich-man's sport if you ask me. Plus my lake has Curlyleaf pondweed in most shallow areas but i think i'm going to find a couple spots where I can smash bottom with a crank Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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