Thursday, May 15 was the Illinois High School Association’s bass fishing regional on Snakeden Hollow’s Lake McMaster. I was interested in watching the weigh-in, so I took a day off work to fish in the area during the morning and observe in the afternoon. The wind was terrible, but fishing is better than a day at work, right.

Starting lineup

Stats
Date: May 15
Location: Knox County public strip pits (2 lakes)
Time: 9:50am-12:05pm, 12:15pm-1:15pm (3.25 hours fishing)
Totals: 14 bass
Weather: Sunny/very windy, 79-89F
Lures Spro Flappin Frog 65 (natural red or redear) – 13 bass, 5” Yamasenko wacky rig (blue pear/black hologram)- 1 bass
Top Bass: 2-4 (Frog)
Top 5 Weight: 8-10 (2-4,1-12,1-12,1-10,1-4)

10:04am – First Bass at 1-12 (16″) on a frog

Tune of the Trip
“What’s Up?” – Four Non Blondes (1993)

11:28am – Top Bass at 2-4 (17″) on a frog

Notes and Nonsense

Wind – I selected a pair of lakes that I felt would be sheltered from the predicted winds from the south and southwest. Gusts were forecast up to forty-seven miles per hour and the wind speeds in general were pushing twenty miles per hour. The weather folks were right on the money as it was ridiculous. My first lake was manageable, but after an hour on lake two I loaded up and headed to the launch site a bit earlier than planned.

IHSA Regional Results – Just for fun I had a weight of 8-10

IHSA Bass Tourney – I thought the weigh-in was to commence at 3:00pm, but when I arrived at 1:50pm, boats were loading, and a couple teams had already weighed in. I felt for the anglers and drivers as Lake McMaster sits high with few places to escape the wind no matter the direction. There were big time whitecaps, and I am still amazed that the canopies set up for the weigh-in area withstood the onslaught. You sure had to hold on to your hat and the officials were having quite a time keeping a grip on the scoresheets. Final results had one of the Princeville teams on top with 10.58 pounds and the Big Bass of the tournament was a 4.02 caught by a Farmington angler.

Respool your line before it gets this low (read on below)

Frog Fails – A Spro Flappin Frog topwater lure was the winner for the day in landing thirteen of my fourteen bass. However, the success did not come without some frustration. No fault of the frog or the bass as the issues arose due to lazy angling. I had intended to replace my braided line (green) as my spool was low, and a long cast would result in casting past a knot attached to the previous batch of braid (yellow). That was potentially a breakoff waiting to happen, so I stripped off all the green line. I am not sure how old the yellow line was, but I lost two frogs (and bass) on hooksets as the line broke and I was eventually down to my final frog. The amount of yellow line was also such that long casts would reveal the original monofilament backing (see above pic). Lesson learned, replace your line when you notice an issue, don’t be lazy or press your luck.

Winning lures

Don’t Be Chicken – As noted, the above situation had me down to my final frog. This resulted in growing too timid on my hooksets which likely contributed to losing several bass that spit the lure on the way to the boat. Frog fishing is prone to lost bass by its nature as the bass are often striking the lure through some slop (surface weeds) instead of more open water. This factor can mean that their aim isn’t true, the weeds get in the way of hook penetration, and timing on the hookset can be tough. The lesson here is don’t get yourself into a situation where you are “being chicken fishing a frog.” Frog fishing requires a firm hookset and steady pressure once the bass is hooked to get them moving out of the weeds and headed for the boat. I took the long way home making two tackle shop stops to get four more frogs and new braided line.

Restocked and ready for action

 

Conditions were challenging but the bass came through for a successful day. More numbers to report on the day but I have already rambled enough for today’s report, and I was back on the water again the following day. Perhaps I will compose a follow-up post with further details at another time. In the meantime, stay tuned for a stellar Top 5 Update headed your way tomorrow. Talk to you later. Troy