As me and my oldest boy, Jayce, drove an hour towards the fishing hole, I wavered on whether a walk-in trip was a good idea. After all, our day had started with a local JDRF walk covering somewhere near two miles. So the prospect of a 1.5 mile round trip hike to a fishing hole was a tough call. However, I felt it was my best bet to accomplish a couple goals as detailed below.

Just over 1.5 of the miles were racked up on our round trip with Jayce eager to pitch in and carry some of the load.

Jayce’s Stats
Date: May 5, 2018
Location: Knox County, IL public strip mine
Time: 4:35pm-6:50pm
Weather: Partly cloudy/windy
Totals: 8 bluegill, 6 bass, 2 crappie
Lures/Bait
Senko wacky rig (cream white) – 6 bass
Waxworms on jighead with slip bobber – 8 bluegill, 2 crappie
Top Bass: 2-5 Senko
Top 5 Weight: 7-8 (2-5,1-13,1-5,1-4,0-13)

A first cast bluegill and a quick multispecies start to the evening

Notes and Nonsense

Cinco de Mayo – Every once in a while that whole light bulb thing goes on upstairs and I get one of those “hey, that would be a good blog project” ideas that at least amuse myself. So, the water is warming courtesy of some stable weather, the bass are moving shallow to make more bass and my boy is chomping at the bit to go fishing. And, here’s the kicker, its Cinco de Mayo and the conditions are ripe for one of my favorite presentations to kick into gear. Enter the Senko wacky rigged worm in the cream white pattern that I also refer to as “Mayo”, as in Mayonnaise. Get it? Well, the bass did on a day where I got to kick back and play fishing guide for a young angler who really took a leap forward courtesy of an ever improving skill set and some quality hungry bass.

First Senko de Mayo bass weighed 1-5 (new personal best) and there was no turning back to panfish for this happy angler (see release video for this bass below)

Destination Dilemma – My aim was to put Jayce in front of some quality bass and shift gears from our standard panfish/whatever will eat a waxworm approach. Half a dozen private strip mines fished via boat or one of the dozens of public, walk-in spots was what made it a tough call. We left the little boat at home which seemed to initially disappoint Jayce and the decision also caused me to waver on the drive. In the end, I elected to hit a public off the beaten path proven spot and it turned out to be a winning move for a dad wearing the hat of fishing guide on this evening.

Kicking the personal best up by a full pound with this Senko de Mayo 2-5 (video of catch below)

Senko de Mayo – I wanted to focus on the weightless Senko wacky rig presentation which is not only a solid producer but also pretty kid friendly when compared to a handful of other mid-spring techniques. With aquatic vegetation kicking into full gear, the wacky rig also shines due to its slow sinking action amidst the weeds. It doesn’t require a young angler to kick a retrieve into full gear as the lure hits the water like a spinnerbait, chatterbait or lipless crank and the single hook is a lot more friendly navigating weeds than a treble hooked crankbait or a bottom bumping lure such as a creature bait or jig.  The Senko proved to be the right bait for the day as a few brief attempts with other lures drew no interest whatsoever.  When the dust had settled it had produced a solid Top 5 limit for the young angler in roughly two hours of fishing.

Another solid Senko bass tipping the scales at 1-13

Quote of the Day: When discussing the trip at home before we hit the road, I was telling Julie and Jayce that the aim was to hit a spot that upped the odds of Jayce crossing paths with a decent sized bass. I told them that the goal was to get Jayce hooked into one hitting the 12” mark (or better). Jayce chimed in, “Maybe I can get one that’s even a foot.”

Mission accomplished in a batch of those foot long (and better bass) and right on target with the Senko de Mayo presentation. And the boy was still going strong at the end of a long day, a lot of exercise and some good old fresh air. In fact, he surprised me in staying awake the whole way home despite it pushing an 8:15pm arrival. You just can’t fit it all of this outing into one posting so stay tuned for a further look at some of the peripherals beyond the fish. Talk to you later. Troy

Well, 15 years ago this week I took my wife, Julie, fishing at an old fishing hole we called Emstrom’s Pond. Emstrom’s has already been featured in three of the Friday Flashbacks but, hey, it was stellar fishing spot as evidenced by this pair of fishing pics. Of course, it helped that it was only minutes away from our home at the time so it was a perfect destination when time was limited. And thinking back to 2003 with no children yet in our life, I’d have to say that we really had no clue on how the concept of “free time” would forever change.

Here’s an excerpt from the original report that I submitted to family and friends back on 5/9/2003 regarding this outing that tells the whole story behind the 10+ pounds of bass in the pics above.

May 6 – After giving the fish a few days off, I took Julie fishing at Emstrom’s. I joke about not taking someone fishing again if they outfish me, but here’s proof that I’m only kidding as Julie outdid me, two bass to zero a few years back at Lake Carlton. Anyway, we only had an hour on the pond but it was well worth the trip. The new 2003 largemouth bass record stands at 5-5 after I worked over The Beaver Lodge with my 1/4 oz. Strike King Rattlin’ Jig (black/blue) with a #11G pork frog (blue glitter). Measuring 23″ in length, it is the longest bass I’ve ever caught despite being several ounces shy of my heaviest (5-15), a great, healthy looking fish. Julie even took up my offer to hold it for a picture. We played the customary “guess how big the bass is” game. The first bass I caught, I guessed at 1-2 and Julie opted not to guess, stating that she had no idea of a reasonable estimate. The fish weighed in at 1-3. Upon catching “the big one”, we tried again. My guess, 5-12, Julie’s guess, 5-6. I was very impressed, not only because she was an ounce off, but also, more importantly, she guessed heavy. The mark of a true fisherman (woman), overestimate the weight. We also played “guess the water temperature”, yet another example of silliness. Julie promptly stuck her finger in the water and guessed 68 degrees while my estimate was 63 degrees. Actual temp, 67 degrees. We also managed 13 bluegills on 1/8 or 1/16 oz. jigs (pink) with twister tails (smoke) with and without spinners (silver).

So, there you have it, the real tale behind two pictures but only one fish.  I would definitely say that Julie’s shot is the more attractive of the two. Not only for obvious reasons but also because it just appears more dynamic with the gills flared and a broader depth on the fish.  What’s also fun is that you could definitely pull this one off as two different fish due to the lighting and angle of the shots if you wanted to pull somebody’s leg or stretch the truth a bit.  Not here though, as while I do use multiple shots of the same fish for a few different postings (Facebook, Top 5 Update, fishing report), the data is consistent to emphasize that it is the same fish.  Yep, there are still a few places where you can believe what you see and read on the internet.

And once again, I have to say that writing has been an outstanding addition to the whole fishing experience as it preserves details that would otherwise be lost over time. In this case, the guessing game on weight and water temperature. Just a couple examples of goofy things employed over the years to enhance the adventure.

And speaking of that sort of thing, stay tuned for a new bit of family fishing fun slated to make its debut sometime this spring. Inspired by some college football hijinks that I caught wind of last season, I think it will be an entertaining bit of silliness. Of course, I have little trouble entertaining myself so we’ll see how it translates to others. Talk to you later. Troy

With the kids away last weekend at my folks it meant consecutive days on the water. And that’s a good thing even in the midst of yet another cold front (albeit mild) which would provide for a challenge and a diminished bite. However, what lacked in quantity was made up for with a pair of quality bites.

8:55am First Bass 15.5″ 1-12 Rapala Shad Rap

Stats
Date: April 22, 2018
Location: Little John Conservation Club (2 lakes)
Time: 8:10am-11:45am
Weather: Partly cloudy/very windy
Air Temp: 48-62F
Totals: 4 bass
Lures:
Rapala Shad Rap (blue) – 2 bass
Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad) – 1 bass
Strike King KVD 2.5 Rattling Squarebill crankbait (sexy shad) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 3-0 Squarebill crankbait
Top 5 Weight (2 bass at 12” or better): 4-12 (3-0,1-12)

Notes and Nonsense

No Hot Sauce? – Slept in a little later than normal on a fishing morning so I opted for a fast food breakfast instead of making my own. I was looking forward to a Super Sonic Burrito from the local Sonic even though probably not the best for me. Particularly appealing is the inclusion of a batch of jalapenos in these breakfast creations. Throw in some hot sauce and it’s a great start to the morning. Well, good on the jalapenos but disappointed when the lady at the window informed that they’d ran out of hot sauce. Boy, what kind of spot runs out of hot sauce? Certainly not my house as noted by my current collection below.

Weather You Like it or Not – Wind gusts that made it a chore to row, water that numbed the fingers when pulling up the anchor and 40 degree starting temps…hey, what’s new for 2018? As I struggled to get bit, I Iapsed into that whole blame the weather routine that us anglers have been known to employ as a reason for not fooling the fish. That’s right, reason, not excuse. Been doing this for a long time, I know the semantics. At any rate, as I replayed bits from the four previous trips alongside the current weather I realized that I had not had a decent day to go fishing all year. In fact, I would have to say that my bonus February 27 outing was actually the “nicest” day. And there was still ice on a quarter of the lake. Been an ugly 2018, sure hope Spring shows up before Summer.

Shad Rap – This old bait saved the shutout again after I struggled to get a bite on several other presentations. I really don’t know what it is about this unassuming, quiet bait but run at a slow crank, just enough to keep it in a tight wobble, it is a winner when looking for a cold water bite or two. I’ve got a pile of stuff in my “Legendary Lure” series of writings over the years and this one is bucking for inclusion. One of these days I also want to go off on a tangent about this bait that I bought in the 80s as it begs for a melding of tunes and tackle. After all, its cool name brings to mind an exposure to the musical genre that included the likes of Kool Mo Dee, Kurtis Blow, Grandmaster Flash, Whodini, Run DMC and The Sugarhill Gang.

10:17am Top Bass 18″ 3-0 Squarebill Crankbait

Top Bass – The KVD crankbait came through on an old faithful sort of spot that was getting hit by the east wind. Not my preferred direction but proves that wind can still be a winner in positioning some fish. This fish came minutes after I’d relocated to a second lake and had me thinking that perhaps I had found some interested bass. I hit a number of similar setups but only got one more bite the rest of the way. The whole “wind from the east” saying was right on target again.

Got a Friday Flashback tomorrow, some loosely related fishing stuff over the weekend and perhaps a Top 5 Update for Monday. May need a little help with that last item though. Anybody interested? Talk to you later. Troy