For this Resolution I proposed revisiting a concept for submitting a fishing report that was first instituted back in 2002. The idea was based on a Bassmaster magazine series that follows a pro on a new lake and details their approach and results over the course of seven hours as they look to discover what it takes to get bit.

My version featured a photo and the details of every bass we landed, big or small. After all, we don’t quite rank like the folks who actually make a living by fooling fish so there’s a chance that our haul wouldn’t quite wind up as impressive as the pros. But for me, the rest of the story is just as important as anything we catch. As always, it’s fun to look back and reminisce about a day on the water with a favorite fishing partner no matter the quality or quantity of the results.

For whatever reason, I put this concept on the shelf after 2009 so I figured it was high time to bring it back in 2017. And I did just that, along with Dad, during an abbreviated July 8 outing at Little John Conservation Club that I called “Lake Lowdown.” The stats from the trip appear below (along with several pics mixed in throughout this post):

Totals: 17 bass (Troy – 10, Dad – 7)
Lures:
Senko weighted wacky rig (electric shad) – 9 bass
Senko weighted wacky rig (smoke) – 7 bass
Booyah Buzz Buzzbait (snow white shad) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 5-0 Buzzbait
Top 5 Weight: 12-4 (5-0,3-5,1-8,1-4,1-3)

Bass #1 – 6:08am 16” (1-8) Senko wacky rig (electric shad)
On the board eight minutes in with our first “keeper” after two regular spots let us down, spot number three is once again a winner.

Bass#3 – 6:29am 7” Senko
Wasting no time, Dad grabs the lead, but who’s counting? And yes, for this project they all count and get their picture taken, even if they aren’t much bigger than the lure (5” Senko).

Bass#6 & 7 – 7:02am Dad 12” (0-14) and Troy 11” both on Senkos
Dad gets the first of our only double as I hook mine only seconds after he has set the hook. He gets me by an inch with our second “keeper” boosting our weight to a whopping 2-6 and looking for three more to round out a Top 5.

Bass#9 – 7:16am 8” Senko
I dig the take a pic of every bass aspect of this project as it shows that you typically have to wade through a bunch of “dinks” in search of the “keepers” and occasional “lunkers.” The thing is though, you don’t really want to bother the other guy with one of these so you do the photo honors yourself. Holding this one close to the camera still doesn’t make it look bigger, however.

Bass#10 – 7:19am 14” (1-3)
Now this one was cool as it came from an area that has produced in the past but I was going to skip due to cramped quarters in Dad’s Bass Tracker versus the old eight foot johnboat. However, Dad got snagged on an underwater limb prompting a rescue mission into the area. First cast to an overhanging bush after freeing his Senko and we had “keeper” number four, bumping our weight to 4-13.

Bass#14 – 8:11am 21.5” (5-0) Buzzbait
The buzzbait shutout ends in a big way after intermittent casting for the first two hours failed to produce.  I had told Dad that it only takes one bite and this was it.  Throw in the fact that it came on the second visit to a spot that is historically productive including a couple other big ones and it really makes you feel like you know what you are doing.  Top 5 complete with a big jump in weight total to 9-13.

Bass#15 – 8:39am 20” (3-5) Senko
Dad joins the big fish parade with what he speculated was his “biggest Senko bass ever.” A great fight featured a dive at the boat that had me poised and ready with the dipnet when the fish surfaced. Crazy thing was, it surfaced about eighteen feet behind us having swam completely under the boat. Dad deftly guided the fish back around to our side, dodging our rear trolling motor with his rod tip under water and we had another big boost to our Top 5. This fish knocked out the earlier 0-14 and brought out total weight to 12-4.

A rousing success and glad I revisited the idea, just might have to bring it back as annual event. While this was only a 3.5 hour trip, don’t think that we shortchanged the concept as we did have a full day on the water. It’s just that the next few hours were spent with my boys chasing some panfish in Papa’s big boat. Which is part of another Resolution headed your way soon. Talk to you later. Troy