Took the weekend off from blogging after kicking off the new website with a streak of 40 consecutive days with a posting. Was hoping for a Top 5 submission or two to resume posting with the standard Monday update but no go. I even gave it a shot myself with the first trip of the year across The River but came up rather short of the weight I needed. I did catch some bass though, so today you get a fishing report in place of an update. Keep in mind, folks, that I provide a report for every trip, for better or worse, as real life fishing ain’t like the magazines, television or even the internet (except for this website, of course).
Stats
Date: June 10, 2017
Location: Lost Grove Lake, IA
Time: 5:50am-10:05am
Weather: Sunny/windy-very windy
Air Temp: 67F-82F
Water Temp: no reading
Totals: 10 bass
Lures:
Booyah Buzz Buzzbait (snow white shad) – 7 bass
Senko wacky rig (electric shad) – 2 bass
Senko Texas rig (electric shad) w/ 1/8 oz. tungsten weight – 1 bass
Top Bass: two at 11.5” (did not qualify to weigh)
Top 5 Weight: none over 12”
If all else fails and the fish aren’t that big, show the lures. Buzzbait, Senko wacky rig, Senko Texas rig (bottom)
Notes & Nonsense
Record Quest Round One – One of the resolutions I posted last month revolved around the pursuit of a new Iowa largemouth bass personal best. Going into this outing, that mark stood at 1-9 with a catch from June 19, 2016. Following this outing, that mark still stands as I never even fooled one that qualified to hang from the scale (my criteria for weighing “keepers” has long stood at a 12” minimum length). Now for some of the excuses, I mean challenges, on this body or water.
History and Fishery – While Lost Grove Lake has been in the making for several decades, news reports cite the “public grand opening” as August 2014. My debut was June 19, 2016 and in three visits, including this trip, I have spent a total of 13.75 hours on the lake and landed 35 bass (2.55 bass per hour). Decent in terms of rate/quantity but severely lacking in quality bites with only 2 bass at 12” or better (weight 1-9 and 1-2). I have seen several 3 to 4 pound bass in person and in print so I know they are there but just haven’t gotten to grab one of them yet. Iowa DNR sampling surveys do make me feel better though as electrofishing results back up my logbook with a population dominated by 8-10” fish. Ideally, they just need some time to grow up.
6:15am First Bass – Buzzbait, less than 12″ just like all that would follow
Structure and Access – In a post that I wrote last year for my previous gig, I described the lake as “messy.” This reference pertained to an abundance of brushy timber above and below surface along the creek channels and a great deal of surface vegetation clogging the shoreline and much of the standing timber. I roll with an 8-foot rowboat and a topographic map (water fried a portable depthfinder I used last year just a couple months after purchase) on the 360-acre body of water so a few challenges on the learning curve there as well. But hey, the equipment upstairs working on thirty five years of experience is catching plenty of fish here, just not big ones.
Buzzbait Bite – Windy conditions, the structure challenges noted above and only a few morning hours to fish had me committed to a buzzbait presentation. Not a problem, I prefer to fish fast and if a good one is going to let down its guard, a buzzbait is a good tool to fool it. Seven out of my ten fish came on the lure and I had two others throw the lure after being hooked along with at least half a dozen other fish take a swipe at the bait without getting hooked. Overall, it was a weird bite though as nearly every strike was barely a ripple on the surface with several instances where it took a second of two for the brain to process that I actually had a fish on, pretty odd on a morning where I had a significant number of hits.
8:56am – Truth hurts, Top Bass 11.5″ Senko wacky rig. However, I do like this photo as an indication of just how windy it was out there. You know it’s windy when you can feel your beard moving sideways. Then again, maybe that’s a sign to pursue a more manageable look…perhaps later this summer. Ain’t ditching the lucky hat though.
Despite falling short in my quest this time around, I will definitely be back for further field work on getting the place figured out as those fish keep growing up. The notes in this posting in no way represent complaints or excuses as I definitely like the lake and the challenges it poses. Apparently, many others do as well as I encountered many other boats including a few just a little fancier than my setup. Later this week I will post some more info on Lost Grove Lake from some research I did last year. And later this fishing season I’m going to get back there with a new plan…stay tuned. Talk to you later. Troy