Hey, what better way to kick off an outdoor blog than with a fishing report?

Seeing that last Tuesday was likely the last day of decent weather here in West Central Illinois before things took a backwards turn I opted to invest a day off of work in exchange for chasing some bass. Turned out to be a beautiful day just as forecast and the bass did not disappoint.

9:57am First Bass 15″ 1-8 Spinnerbait                                                          12:44pm 13″ 1-2 Buzzbait

Stats
Date: April 25, 2017
Locations: Knox County IL strip mines (1 public, 1 private)
Time: 9:30am-4:05pm (5.5 hours fishing, the rest relocating)
Weather: Partly cloudy to sunny/very windy
Air Temp: 54F-79F
Water Temp: no reading
Totals: 11 bass
Lures
Booyah Buzzbait (snow white shad) – 4 bass
Booyah Counter Strike Spinnerbait (chartreuse/white) – 2 bass
5” Senko weighted wacky rig (rainbow trout) – 2 bass
Strike King KVD Rattling Squarebill Crankbait (sexy ghost minnow) – 2 bass
Strike King Red Eye Shad (orange craw) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 5-9 Booyah Buzzbait (snow white)
Top 5 Weight: 11-1 (5-9,1-12,1-8,1-2,1-2)

Top Bass 12:49pm 22″ 5-9 Buzzbait                                                                Booyah Buzzbait, unlikely lure of the day

Notes & Nonsense

First Stop – Catching wind of some success and a six pounder from one of my infrequent haunts I elected to make it my first stop to see if I could pull off a similar catch. Two hours of casting produced four bass with two at 12” or better and Top Bass at 1-8. Wind was tough as I worked over my spots with a variety of presentations but just not meant to be, enough to keep me interested but not enough to linger for another lap when I had other fishing holes within a short drive.

The Spawn is On – My crude water temperature gauge appears to be shot so no reading on that condition on this trip. However, observation indicated that things must have climbed to the point that the combo of calendar and water temp have at least a few bass in the mood. Rowing around the bank on this day I spotted at least half a dozen fish in bed mode. I left them to do their thing as I still waver on the time investment as well as the ethics of bed fishing. To each their own, but put yourself in their place…just saying.

Top Bass – About 10:00pm on the night prior to this outing as I packed my gear I spotted my buzzbaits in a box reserved for a little later in the year and thought to myself, “That might just be worth a shot” in the midst of our string of stable 70 degree days. And thirty minutes into my second stop without a bite I decided to put it to use a bit after high noon. On one hand I knew that it could be a longshot, but hey, I wasn’t getting bit anyhow. On the other hand, I also know that a buzzbait can produce some real pleasant “surprises” when being thrown on the outskirts of the customary warm water, early morning, late evening, low light, etc…conditions. At this location I did have a pretty good surface chop, partly cloudy skies and lightly stained water so primarily concerned about jumping the gun on activity level. Half a dozen casts later I had a 12.5” (1-2) in the boat from a short point with some scattered weeds and a good dropoff, success is cool! Five minutes later the water just exploded off of another wider point as the buzzbait neared a more gradual drop with some overhanging bushes on the bank. Topwater strikes can sometimes be deceiving in initially conveying what’s going to be on the line if your hookset is successful. But in the split second before me and the bass knew we were hooked up, my brain was hollering, “This is a good one.” And right it was, as I soon had a 22” (5-9) bass on board after a short but solid fight. The bass making you feel smarter than you really are is always a good feeling.

1:11pm 16″ 1-12 Buzzbait                                                                           1:37pm 13.5″ 1-2 Buzzbait

Last Stop – After four bass in just under two hours on my second spot (all on the buzzbait) I decided to move on to one more of my favorite fishing holes to see if I could continue my topwater success. But the sun came out in full force on the much clearer body of water and despite some good chop to break up the surface I put away the buzzbait in favor of other presentations. Three more bass joined the logbook via Red Eye Shad and Senko offerings but the best of the bunch only tipped the scales at 1-2. I called it a day after an hour and forty five minutes of fighting the wind and headed for home satisfied with my day of fishing that was originally slated for a day at work, always better no matter what the results.

So, welcome aboard the new website with my first posting being my favorite type, the fishing report. Got plenty more stuff headed your way every day. Stop by any time, let me know what you think and talk to you later. Troy