So, this whole series comes courtesy of my recent foray into the world of video technology via GoPro or iPhone. Neither of which actually existed back when I started writing outdoor articles. The new wrinkle of being able to include some video with the words and pictures has been a pretty cool addition that I find quite entertaining.

And entertainment is a lot of what the last 17 years and 1363 postings has been all about. I must say that a fair amount of all of that stuff has primarily entertained one person more than the rest.

That would be the guy who composed it.

Today’s clip is a perfect example of how the video aspect has added to my entertainment while enhancing the fishing and writing experience. What we’ve got here is a 12” bass that tipped the scales at one pound even and was caught at Lost Grove Lake on July 27, 2018 using a buzzbait. It says so right there in my log book. Standard issue recording of a catch, similar to the four hundred or so other 12” bass in there, nothing particularly noteworthy, right?

Well, throw in a little video of the catch and it turns out that there is more that meets the eye. Take a look for yourself before I delve into the details.

Let’s start with a classic summer evening buzzbait scenario as you run the bait along the outside weed edge of an expansive shallow, weedy flat. Keeps you right on the edge of your seat.

Watch and listen again at the 0:12 mark as the bait briefly hangs in some weeds, skips a beat and accelerates forward as I give it a twitch to pull it loose. You know what happens in the next split second. Classic bite after a lure has banged into an object and darted free.

At 0:16 the thrashing bass hits the edge of the duckweed surface cover and carves a path through the mat on the way to the boat. By 0:31 the duckweed has regained complete surface coverage which is kind of cool to watch. It’s a neat example of something that I never really paid any attention to as my eyes and attention focus intently on the catch.

Of course, the video also comes with audio and it is fun to listen to whatever thoughts and details are presented as the catch proceeds. Yet again, aspects that would be lost to time without some cool pieces of technology that easily fit in your pocket (or tacklebox) or strap around your chest.

As I said, perhaps I primarily amuse myself but I’d like to think that there are some fellow anglers out there who can relate. After all, I suspect there’s more folks reeling in their share of run of the mill bass in between the occasional and often elusive lunker than there are certified big bass slayers. I would guess that a lot more fishing resembles this video than it does a magazine cover.

To finish up today’s submission I’ve included a bonus video that I figure a few can relate to as well. It was a bit too much to include on my already full blooper video for later this week. But since it features some more Lost Grove Lake footage it fits in here just fine.

Raise your hand if you’ve been there, done that on a summer fishing hole. Sure looks good right about now though. Talk to you later. Troy

You know all of that stuff that you learned during your formal education that you never really get to use?

Well, a blog can do wonders for bringing some of that good, old useless knowledge to the surface as one ponders a post.

“PB” was always a fun bit of trivia when it came to the Periodic Table of Elements as it strangely represented the abbreviation for lead. But, if you were a fellow with two years of high school Latin and two more semesters in college, well, it made perfect sense. Lead is plumbum, of course. (Shout out to Mrs. Buck and Professor Vander Muelen) And sticking to Latin and Chemistry, as for the “J” in today’s title, there is no J in Latin thus not surprising that the letter does not appear in the Periodic Table.

Okay, enough showing off as the acronym, “PB”, stands for “Personal Best” and can be applied in a number of pursuits, generally in athletics. Today it is being used in the world of bass fishing and pertains to the fish landed in the video below by my boy, Jayce, on Cinco de Mayo.

Obviously, I dig this video as it is not only an admirable catch but it also brings to mind a couple other thoughts as I watch it again. I’ve marked these items with arrows in the snapshot below taken from the video right as Jayce’s Senko splashed down.

First up, I nearly blurted out that I didn’t think Jayce’s cast was long enough to fool a fish. Luckily, the bass struck immediately and saved me from the documented embarrassment of not minding my own business and just letting the boy fish without unnecessarily critiquing such details. He got it in the water which means he got it right.

The second item concerns the lure on the end of my pole at the lower right of the pic. For what it’s worth, it’s a Whopper Plopper as I was dinking around hoping to show Jayce the thrilling blast of a topwater strike. After Jayce’s catch I put it away and stuck to observing and filming in between some bluegill casts. As I watched and listened to his increasing confidence I knew that it was not the time to risk lucking into a bass that would possibly knock him off of the Top Bass throne. It was his day and he was putting on a good show, he didn’t need a cameo from some old wannabe bass fisherman.

Grand totals on the day saw Jayce nab six bass with a Top 5 Weight of 7-8 and a couple bonus crappie. As for me, I’ve never been more content to leave the lake without a bass, perfectly satisfied with eight bluegill in between playing fan, fishing guide, videographer and best of all, Dad. Talk to you later. Troy

I have scoured the internet on several occasions in search of an old advertisement that offered up the tagline “there’s big fish in Iowa” or something quite similar. I want to say that it was a tourism spot but could very well have been pitching a product of some sort.

Just don’t know.

What I do know is that I’ve had some difficulty finding those big fish so it is not only the advertisement search that has proven elusive. I’ve only been fishing Iowa waters since June 2016 and exclusively on the relatively new Lost Grove Lake so my attempts have been rather limited. To date, my personal best Iowa bass is a 2-3 from June 2017 among the 106 bass in the log from just under 40 hours of casting in The Hawkeye State.

The clip below represents the Top Iowa Bass for 2018, not a particularly impressive specimen but worthy of a video highlight nonetheless.

Even though I have yet to fool anything real special on Lost Grove, I still plan on giving it another shot in 2019. The proximity of a 25-minute drive makes it a good after work weekday trip once the summer days get long. A couple evening hours hits the spot and I do know that some good ones do indeed prowl that water. I’ve seen a couple on internet reports as well as several firsthand swimming in the waters.

But the toughest one to take was a 4-pounder that a fellow nabbed from the bank within a cast of my boat and right where I was headed. Tough luck for me as he simply got there first. Initially a little bummed, I took a mental step back, congratulated him on the catch and even assisted him by loaning my pliers and snapping a couple pics for him with his phone.

Best of all, that fish is still swimming, right alongside my 2-3 Iowa personal best as they were both caught in the same area. And as both were fooled in 2017, they’ll have two more years of growing under their belts for 2019 (yes, I do know bass do not wear belts). Talk to you later. Troy

Superstition is a weird deal.

I don’t really buy it but I also can’t totally shake it. Played just a few ball games of various sorts when I could do that sort of thing and well, superstition kind of gets in your head from time to time. Where to stand when on deck, number of dribbles on a free throw, glove goes in a certain spot on the bench, mark your ball and replace before a putt, lucky socks, front foot out of the box between pitches…you get the picture.

But those are what I call “habits” or “routine” so not superstitious, right?

So, how about superstition and fishing?

Folks, I’ve got a whole batch of notes on the topic in my “one of these days” folder.

And I’ve gotta tell you, when the incident below occurred it honestly had me a little worried. You see, I’ve long viewed a bass on the first cast as more of a bad omen than a sign that you are going to knock ‘em dead. And a first cast bass on Lake Storey? Now that is almost unheard of.

In reality, however, I would have to say that the concern is unfounded, pretty much like all of the standard (or odd) superstitious quirks that can influence people’s behavior. In fact, on this Lake Storey outing I wound up having a real solid day on a fishing hole that can sometimes be a tough one to figure out.

Perhaps next time though I’ll choose a historically unproductive spot for my first cast just in case. You know, instead of the tree under the water, maybe toss that spinnerbait into one up on the bank.

Talk to you later. Troy

It looks like Winter is going to stick around for a while now that it has arrived, so what to do in terms of blogging?

Why, a 2018 Fishing Video recap sounds like a good idea so let’s start there.

Since I typically like to kick off a series of postings with a bit of an introduction, here we go.

Back in July of 2017 for birthday number 50, my family gave me a GoPro camera. I am a lucky fellow to have such a thoughtful wife (and kids) as it was a cool gift and something that I likely wouldn’t have purchased on my own as spending money is not my strong suit.

2017 Blooper Reel below to help set the tone for the videos coming your way the rest of the month.

As you can see from the revisit of the 2017 Blooper Reel, video has indeed been a fun addition to the fishing thing that I’ve been doing since I was a kid and this blogging thing that I’ve been doing since being a bigger kid. Throw in a smart “phone” for some added video and over the course of a year I wind up with a decent amount of footage.

Some of it even ends up fairly interesting and entertaining, if I say so myself. Now I certainly will not be mistaken for the latest internet video sensation but I’m sure having a good time preserving the adventures on “film” (yep, can’t get away from the old lingo).

The occasional new, yet rudimentary, editing tricks that I dabble in are far from the polished YouTubers and outdoor pros but for me that’s still much of the fun. And no scripts here, just some straight up reactions and rambles captured on a fishing trip.

So, as we close out the month let’s take a look at year two of the video age with a Top 10 of sorts along with a bonus bunch of bloopers to round out the 2018 video highlights. No particular countdown order beyond an intro montage to start and a recap montage to finish.

Hope you’ll tune in and talk to you later. Troy