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

“Destination…somewhere new.”

So began the New H2O Resolution post and so begins our update.

I managed to check this one of the list with three bodies of water. Two were actually new and one was a spot I hadn’t fished since 2002, so essentially new in my book.

April 8, 2017 Private pond

April 8, 2017 – One of the plant locations of my employer features a pothole of a pond that I gained permission to fish last year during a conversation with the Plant Manager. The visit produced four short bass in an hour of casting while a pond side discussion with a plant worker on his break wound up being one of those “you should have seen this pond a few years ago” stories. It appears that I missed the heyday of the spot as he noted that several large bass had been harvested over the years. However, the cooperative nature of the ones that I fooled on this morning led me back a couple more times with the kids in tow and a good time was had by all (more on that in a later Resolution post).

April 8, 2017 – After the stop at the above location I hit some walk-in strip mines and managed to fool another short bass out of a remote pothole that I’d never fished before. Always interesting what may lie in these off the beaten path spots and there’s still plenty more at this area that await fulfilling a revisit to this resolution.

September 11, 2017 Johnson-Sauk Trail

September 11, 2017 – I suppose Johnson-Sauk Trail Lake warrants an asterisk as I had actually fished it twice before, once for panfish back in the mid-90s and a brief visit in 2002 chasing bass. However, I feel that sufficient time has passed to deem this new water. I managed five bass in three hours with Top Bass only 1-2 but found the lake to be just about right for that old 8’ johnboat and a set of oars. In addition, I’ve seen a handful of pictures of some quality bass and a few nice muskies (all noted as released) that show potential for a good catch.

Nothing stellar but always fun to see some new fishing holes, full reports for each can be found by clicking the link in the dates above. Two for two so far on the 2017 Resolutions and more results to come. Talk to you later. Troy

Okay, so maybe you don’t really want a resolution, but as a committed outdoor blogger, I’m going to give you some. After all, this annual exercise (often in futility) is just too good to pass up. Here we go, for 2018…

Bass Break – Going to be tough to top 2017 in terms of my Top 5 weight of 26-13. Not to say that I’m not going to try, but it’s high time that I go back to my fishing roots and give some other species a shot.

Catch and Cook – A much younger generation dominates the fishing vlog landscape and I keep a watchful eye on a handful of them for entertainment and occasional enlightenment. One standby is something they call “Catch and Cook” videos. Now, I don’t know that I will necessarily go the whole video route but I do plan on keeping some fish with the intent of showing the kids the whole process from reeling ‘em in to chomping ‘em up. Been a lot of years, hope I still remember how to clean fish. Hey, Dad…

New IA H2O – Now that Iowa is only a handful of miles from home, I’ve taken to purchasing the non-resident license and trying to fool some Hawkeye State bass. My exclusive destination to date has been Scott County’s Lost Grove Lake but for 2018 I’ve got my eye set on a couple other spots to add to my list.

New Parks – Our family had a good time with several day trips to Illinois and Iowa parks in 2017 and I want to continue that trend in the New Year. There’s tons to choose from whether a few acres amid the urban setting of the Quad Cities or expanses that lie beyond the hustle and bustle of the city.

New Campground – While our normal stomping grounds of Little John Conservation Club or Lake Storey just outside Galesburg, IL are outstanding outdoor resources, I’m looking to expand our horizons and show the kids some new scenery. Once again, plenty of opportunities are available within close proximity which is cool as I hate wasting time sitting in a vehicle that could be better utilized getting some fresh air.

Definitely a family oriented slant on the 2018 outlook and that is the overall intent. I had an excellent 2017 on the water chasing my bass but admittedly got a little selfish and had more than a few “Dad can we go fishing?” requests that didn’t materialize. So here’s to getting better at fulfilling those wishes.

Stay tuned as the New Year gets underway for a look back at how I fared on my 2017 resolution list. Talk to you later. Troy

My Northerner boots definitely rank as unsung heroes among my fishing/outdoor gear. These typically unseen items rarely get any glory when snapping pics of the catch. After all, the standard pose presents the fish in proximity of the angler’s chest, right in front of my face in a lot of my old pictures or embarrassingly extended as far as the arm can reach towards the camera in some of the mainstream media (I quit doing that one a long time ago). And with the advent of the fishing selfie, well, there’s no way your boots are going to get in on the action.

Fortunately, a fair amount of my fishing has taken me off the beaten path on foot and made for some interesting photo shoots on the weedy bank of a pothole or from a foothold on the steep incline of a spoilbank with a camera propped up on some utility boxes. As such, it’s kind of fun looking back to find that my boots got to be included in the fishing album. Never thought about that aspect before as they are simply great boots, doing their job as they take a beating while keeping my feet warm and dry.

Every once in a while, those good old boots make it into the pic

Well, this pair has finally gave out in a couple spots making them a little leaky as I prowl around the bank or wade through early morning wet terrain. But with the combination of frugality, sentimentality and perhaps even a little superstition, new boots aren’t on the list. Instead, a couple patches and some gunk will suit me just fine.

Besides, things usually get a little deeper during fish stories than they do during the actual fishing, if you know what I mean. Talk to you later. Troy

You know, a weekend is just never enough time to get everything done or sufficiently put work on the back burner for a while. Seems like I’m always wishing I had one more day off as that impending Monday morning feeling begins to creep in again every Sunday afternoon. Forty plus hours of technology on the horizon, helping get four kids off to school for five mornings (Julie does most of the work), activities, homework, chores and all the rest that it takes to be a grownup kind of wears you out.

What’s needed is some extra fresh air to help recharge those batteries and what better way to do so than to extend your weekend?

Granted, even that takes some planning in order to swing it to coincide with the kids being out of school. After all, you don’t get vacation days as a kid during the school year and playing hookie is sometimes more trouble than its worth. Instead, we have to wait for holidays or the scheduled teacher institutes and such. There’s also the traditional summer break although that seems to get shorter all the time and lately we’ve had a fall break to go along with the spring break. At any rate, there should be some opportunities to work this thing into the schedule.

This year I even ventured out solo for a three day, two night camping/fishing trip via a four day weekend to coincide with this summer’s eclipse. That one didn’t quite work out as planned when torrential rains sent me packing after a roughly sixteen hour “vacation.” Here’s hoping for getting a better hand dealt to me from Mother Nature when it comes time to put this wish list item into action.

And, you know what would really be cool?

Anybody want four kids for four days? Talk to you later. Troy