With the boys spending the night at my folks and Julie and the girls opting for a Ladies Night of shopping and supper, I took advantage of no responsibilities to head back across The River after work for the third outing in four days.

Stats
Date: June 20, 2017
Location: Lost Grove Lake, IA
Time: 6:00pm-8:45pm
Weather: Partly cloudy/windy-very windy
Air Temp: not sure
Water Temp: no reading
Totals: 6 bass
Lures:
Mann’s Baby 1- crankbait (crystal gray ghost) – 6 bass
Top Bass: 2-3 Mann’s Baby 1-
Top 5 Weight (only one bass at 12” or better): 2-3

6:01pm First Bass & Top Bass 17″ 2-3 Mann’s Baby 1- Crankbait

Notes & Nonsense

First Bass – I’m guessing it was only about my fourth cast when my crankbait got hammered while running parallel to a patch of reeds and through some of the abundant, scattered surface vegetation (see pic later in post).  The fish made a dive that pulled some drag, so thoughts of a new Iowa personal best began dancing in my head before I ever saw the fish. Once I got a look I knew I had what I was seeking but with only the back treble in the lip it was a crapshoot on whether it was gonna stay hooked. It did its best with several leaps and also got some extra time to try and get away with some bad aim as I tried to get a hold with my Boga Grip. But it was my lucky day and after the weigh-in I had a new “lake record” of 2-3, meeting my long-held criteria of a “good one” by hitting the two-pound mark.

Premonition – On the eve of this outing I posted the following on Facebook:
“15 Years Ago This Week – June 23, 2002 – Lake Bracken gives up 12 bass in 5 hours and while the fish weren’t overly impressive, the lure that landed 11 of them is a winner. In fact, the Mann’s Baby 1- crankbait was included in a ‘Legendary Lures’ series that I compiled back in February 2012 for my previous blogging gig at Heartland Outdoors. Looking to revisit the concept on the new website at some point and have the lure pictured below tied on in prep of a fishing outing tomorrow evening, hope to add to the legend.”
While a 2-3 isn’t necessarily a trophy, it is a new “state record”, another feather in the cap of this old favorite.

A “legend” lives on, Mann’s Baby 1- Crankbait

That’s Fishing – As usual, I can always find something to write about even when all but one of my bass fall into the less than impressive category. To me, it’s all part of the blogging portion of the program as I believe a lot of anglers can relate to fishing reports that provide more than just the highlights. For today’s installment, some of those details include 2 bass in the first 9 minutes, 3 bass in 10 minutes about 90 minutes later, a final bass roughly 25 minutes after that and then ending the trip with an hour drought. So, beyond the last straggler, my catches came in a 19 minute period within the 2.75 hours total on the water. I hit all my spots, some twice, and even changed my approach to slow down but just one of those days chalked up to “that’s fishing.”

Here’s a sample of surface weed growth with some of these lengthy strands of slime extending 30′ or better. In addition, the subsurface growth is just as crazy making for limited presentation options.

Fishing Lesson – Over the years, an angler learns some things the hard way that lead to some new habits that hopefully prevent the same mistakes from occurring again. Today’s lesson stems back to one night at the Lake Bracken Clubhouse parking lot back about 1985. Packing up to head home after an evening of prowling the bank for panfish followed by some after dark stationary catfishing, I failed to notice that my tacklebox did not find its way into the old wood panel station wagon. No Good Samaritans on this occasion either to bail me out of a foolish mistake and one of my most prized possessions (behind my baseball glove I suppose) was gone. From that day on, I always take a look at my surroundings after loading the boat or changing locations when on foot to make sure I’ve got my stuff. The customary check was a winner again on this night as my shades were on the bed cover as I did the final walk around of the launch, truck and parking area.

Attire – Okay, one last note. Heading in to Father’s Day I asked for a new fishing shirt; lightweight, long sleeved and light color to help combat the sun. Thanks to a great wife, my wish was fulfilled regardless of what kind of dad I am. Now, I’ve been wearing the same basic fishing apparel for years (actually pretty much same real life batch of apparel too) so this was a step outside my comfort zone and it paid off with my new Iowa record. Looking to fish later this evening, so if it ain’t broke…may have to cover it with my lucky gray sweatshirt though as it’s been unseasonably cool of late.

I suppose you’ve had enough and I have as well. Next up, looks like a kids’ fishing report, a grown up report if I get out tomorrow and one of these days I’m hoping to kick off a park review sort of project. Always a work in progress though, so talk to you later. Troy

On the heels of a solid Saturday, I had a chance to try my luck again on Father’s Day Sunday. Hey, my day right, so what’s wrong with ditching the family for some “me” time? Actually, nobody hardly missed me as I left before anybody even dreamed of being awake and returned before the girls ever rolled out of bed. A couple hours of solitude, a few bass and another fishing report.

Stats
Date: June 18, 2017
Location: Lost Grove Lake, IA
Time: 5:55am-7:55am
Weather: Sunny-overcast/windy-very windy
Air Temp: not sure
Water Temp: no reading
Totals: 8 bass
Lures:
Booyah Buzz Buzzbait (snow white shad) – 7 bass
Booyah Blade Spinnerbait (salt & pepper) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 1-9 Buzzbait
Weight (only 2 at 12″ or better): 2-7 (1-9,0-14)

6:15am First Bass and Top Bass 14.5″ 1-9 Buzzbait

Notes & Nonsense

First Bass – Twenty minutes into casting a buzzbait I had my first catch, tipping the scales at 1-9 equal to my former Iowa personal best. Fortunately, the 1-11 from the previous outing had pushed the mark up a couple ounces. Otherwise I may have had to stoop to weighing the latest catch multiple times or perhaps even holding it up in the wind hoping a gust would boost the scale that needed ounce. Okay, maybe not that desperate just in need of something in the two-pound range to make the record at least a little more respectable.

No Repeat Performance – My hopes to duplicate the positive strides I’d made in figuring out some fish the previous day just never materialized. While this trip was just over an hour shorter, a different day just had a different feel.
June 17 = 3.25 hours, 18 bass, 5 at 12” or >, Top 5 Weight of 6-9, Top Bass = 1-11
June 18 = 2.0 hours, 8 bass, 2 at 12” or >, Top 2 Weight of 2-7, Top Bass = 1-9
That’s fishing as no two days are the same. Reasonable production on day two but my excuse this time around was the couple dozen bass with sore lips from Saturday including a handful that got off the first time around. Rarely discouraged though and was back at it two days later, fishing report to come.

7:23am 12″ 0-14 Buzzbait

Three Days in One – The weather continues to be all over the place like much of the rest of 2017 to date. I launched at 5:55am to sunny skies and temps rapidly climbing to the mid-70’s. By 7:00am a massive cloud bank was rolling in with the winds really beginning to pick up. When those winds finally forced me and my little boat off the lake at 7:55am the skies were dark and the temp had dropped a dozen degrees into the low 60’s. In the ten minutes it took to load and leave, the sun had reappeared, the wind had diminished and the temperature had stabilized. I took a drive around the lake to check out the crowd and by the time I decided to head for home it was back to the conditions like when my morning began. I was tempted to launch again at another spot but thought better of it and hit the road to share the remainder of the day with my family.

Stick around the lake after the front moved through or head home to this bunch? I chose the goofballs over a few more bass.

Crowd Count – In a previous post I mentioned that one news outlet had referred to Lost Grove Lake as “Iowa’s newest jewel” and it sure seems to have the attention of more than a few anglers. Similar to last year, I took a drive around to all of the access points (three ramps and three walk-in areas) to check out the crowd. All told, I counted 34 trailers along with sixteen other vehicles, indeed a popular destination but still enough water for everybody.

Back to back trips last weekend to my new area have produced an overall better quality of fish than my previous three stops elsewhere on the lake so why stop now? Stay tuned for another Lost Grove report to see if the trend continues or the well runs dry. Talk to you later. Troy

Got to get away for a shot at some June bass on the first family camping trip of summer break.  Here’s the scoop.

5:56am 13″ 0-15 Buzzbait                                                                                       6:30am 13.5″ 1-0 Buzzbait

Stats

Date: June 3, 2017
Locations: Knox County, IL strip mines (2 private)
Time: 5:50am-8:15am
Weather: Partly cloudy-sunny/breezy
Air Temp: 55F-70F
Water Temp: no reading
Totals: 5 bass
Lures:
Booyah Buzz Buzzbait (snow white shad) – 4 bass
Senko weighted wacky rig (electric shad) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 1-6 Buzzbait
Top 5 Weight: 5-1 (1-6,1-0,0-15,0-15,0-13)

6:42am Top Bass 14″ 1-6 Buzzbait, fish were getting bigger and noticed my gut is too in this photo, gotta work on that.

Notes & Nonsense

The Plan – Generally on these family camping trips I try to squeeze in a few hours on the water chasing bass at sunrise before the kids wake up and the usual craziness ensues.  On some occasions, I have a young companion and we shift gears to panfish but no takers this time around meant all in for bass.  And all in on this partly cloudy morning with a bit of chop on the surface and only a couple hours to fish meant looking for a big bite with a buzzbait all the way.

The Results – I gave it my best effort but just couldn’t find the big one I was after.  Did hear a handful of large surface explosions on the two lakes but just not on my lure.  Four buzzbait bass and a few other missed strikes were certainly enough to keep my interest as I did the old run and gun approach so always rewarding to know that I’m tossing the right bait. As time ran down and the sun came out I did shift gears to nab one final bass on a Senko wacky rig from under some overhanging bushes.  This pattern is historically productive on this lake but the last two years have seen the water conditions become murkier for some reason and the Senko bite seems to have suffered (sounds like a good excuse at least).

7:13am 13″ 0-13 Buzzbait                                                                                      8:04am 13″ 0-15 Senko

Fellow Fisherman – I had some company on the second lake which is generally rare even on weekends. This fellow was doing his thing in a kayak and outfished me three to one during the time frame where we were in sight of one another.  Should have brought my binoculars I guess and maybe could have picked up a tip or two.  The kayak approach has intrigued me in recent years and seems to have become quite popular.  You know, there is kayak manufacturer out there by the name of Jackson Kayak.  Sure sounds like a good match for a field test or endorsement.  Best kayak on the market teams with best, and most prolific, outdoor website…

No boost on this day for my yearly Top 5 total as I need a 2-6 to add some weight.  But hey, five bass in an abbreviated trip all at 12” or better is a winner.  I suppose I should say those bass are simply a bonus as I’ve come to view any day on the water as a winner. Talk to you later.  Troy