Got out over the (beautiful) weekend to do some fun fishing (not a tournament). It's the first time in a long time that I've been able to do that. A busy summer and a rash of boat troubles have kept me landlocked.

I took a friend along who is an amazing photographer and takes every opportunity to photograph wildlife. He took some amazing photos, and if he gives me permission I'll try to post some of them here.

By the time we cooordinated our schedules, most of the day was gone. Didn't get the boat off the trailer until almost 4:00 PM.

The bite was real slow to begin with. It seems they'd only bite if I managed to drop a finesse worm directly on their head. The few bites I did get came on the fall. The bait never made it to the bottom.

Caught about five 12 to 15 inch fish this way, every one of them relating closely to the shady side of standing stumps.

By about 7:30 PM, the sun went behind the trees on the western shore and the topwater bite took off.

Almost as if on cue, fish starting blowing up through the mats and near isolated grass patches.

I tied on a Ribbit swimming frog and went to work. Trolling along the east bank and keying in on the edges of mats and those grass patches, I got another four of five fish on some vicious strikes.

None of the fish were huge...1.5 lbs probably, but it was nice to get out and just fish for the fun of it.

Hooper (a 65-acre impoundment in central Iowa) is always a great lake when you just need to catch some fish, have some fun, and get your confidence back.

Sounds like  fun day!