Welcome to the fishing report that nobody really wants to write, but I’m gonna do it anyway (hopefully somebody will want to read). Many years ago, upon deciding to become a “writer”, I made a pact with myself that I would submit a report for every fishing trip I took. Sticking to that commitment, this is what you get today.
Stats
Date: June 27, 2017
Location: Lost Grove Lake, IA
Time: 6:25pm-8:25pm
Weather: Sunny/windy
Air Temp: mid-80’s
Water Temp: no reading
Totals: 0 bass (yep, a shutout)
No bites from the bass and fortunate I spotted this nasty critter on my shirt before it tried to get a bite of me.
Notes & Nonsense
Uncharted Territory – Not every trip produces stellar results, that’s just fishing, but to get shutout is kind of embarrassing and, fortunately, rather rare. Even on tough days, I can usually find at least one dumb one to put me on the board. Not so this time around and although I am not absolutely certain, it may actually be my first shutout since 2009. That one was really hard to take as it occurred on The Emiquon Preserve less than two weeks after the bass factory opened to the public. The winds ran me and Dad off the lake on that day in about an hour but still an epic feat in failing to fool at least one of those uneducated fish, truly an amazing sort of achievement (yep, wrote a report on that one too).
Excuses – If there is such a thing as a summer cold front, we were in the midst as June neared an end with lows in the 50’s and highs in the 60’s. I’ve got to believe that this turn in the weather shut the bite down, particularly the topwater bite. What stinks is that the weedy conditions pretty much force your hand in this direction as it is difficult to work other subsurface presentations through the mess. I’m also missing my portable depthfinder which succumbed to water damage last summer after only a couple months of use. Working the existing creek channel would have definitely been worth a shot but flying blind just makes it too tough. Okay, nice try, right? In reality, it’s just a matter of failure to adapt and execute, that happens and get ‘em next time.
Rant – I wasn’t in any sort of foul mood based on my inability to fool anything but I did have a “moment” upon rowing back up to the launch. Shortly after I began my evening on the water, a group of a half dozen bank anglers showed up to try their luck at the launch area. When they left, they left behind a pile of trash including a worm box, stringer packaging and a few other pieces of tackle debris. A fellow who had just shown up to fish with a lady friend took the initiative to clean up the mess echoing my sentiments about folks that just don’t care. The parking lot is about 30 yards away yet these knuckleheads can’t carry their trash back to their vehicles. A few bad apples shouldn’t spoil the whole bunch but I sure get tired of these fools.
And Another Thing…– Along the lines of litter, I have found beer and soda cans miles from the nearest parking lot at some of my walk-in strip mine grounds over the years. It has always puzzled me that these folks can haul in the weight of full beverages yet can’t carry out the comparatively weightless empties.
Resolution #10 – Okay, I will admit that I have not always been the top crusader in hauling out the trash of others as opposed to Julie who does put forth such an effort. However, in the spirit of my batch of Resolution postings earlier this year, I guess I should add another one along with a plastic bag or two to my tacklebag.
Alright, thanks for hanging in there for an empty fishing report turned public service message. I’ll try and do better next time but I guess everything happens for a reason. This time the bass provided an opportunity to share a gripe that I’m sure a few others also have along with giving me a push to get my butt in gear and try to become part of the solution instead of just complaining about the problem. Talk to you later. Troy