Hello from the northern part of the country. While we don’t get as long of a season as most folks, we sure make up for it with the amazing quality we have. Right now I’m catching fish a ton of different ways. My smallmouth bite has been a really neat deal. Usually our thermocline prevents the bass from going too deep, but this year we don’t have one so the fish are free to roam out deep. Sure you can catch them out there in the middle of the day if you are willing to seek out some rockpiles and other structural elements, but my favorite bite is early and late on the feeding flats.
I’ve been dialed in on these active fish. I’m throwing a 1/2 ounce Redemption spinnerbait which I weight down a little more with an additional 1/4 ounce of lead wire around the hook shank. The total weight of 3/4 of an ounce allows me to burn the bait as fast as I can on a 7:1 reel and still keep it below the surface. This bite is not for the faint of heart, I mean the strikes are just vicious. We are catching 5-6 pound smallies in gin clear water on this technique. I’ve learned that these fish can’t be given an option wether or not to bite you have to force them into reacting so I never slow down, in fact I often speed up if I see followers. Because the fish are so often taking swipes at the bait a trailer hook has been crucial. I just had to share this bite with you guys because its been so fun for me.
The largemouth here are really relating to thick grass and grass edges. I’ve thrown buzzbaits and spinnerbaits for those fish, but lately I’ve been experimenting with the new Fat Smasher 75. It’s neat, its got a really predictable sink rate and its perfect for the weedlines I love fishing. Our bass eat a lot of perch and the color patterns are perfect for matching the hatch. It’s a neat new bait that I plan to fish a lot and really learn the intricacies of.
I’m excited for the tail end of the summer topwater bite with the Kelly J Jr. it will certainly be a busy few weeks for me and I’ll be sure to update my blog before too long. As it gets later in the summer we are approaching the amazing fall bite up here, and I’m not talking just for bass. We also have a really good population of walleye that can be taken on precision trolling with Staycees and Pointers. I’ll have to update you guys on some of those techniques next time.
It’s been a few weeks since the Forrest Wood Cup. Man, Ouachita was fishing tough. Getting five bites a day was a problem and that showed on day 3. Overall, it was a successful event making a top twenty, but I sure would like to win another one pretty soon.
I finally realize why everyone was telling me to sleep while I can before the baby arrived. He poops more than he eats and eats more than he sleeps. I am not complaining, I’m thrilled to be a father, it is just an observation for any of you thinking about becoming a parent in the near future. All my friends were right, get your sleep now. I never thought I would get more sleep at a tournament than I would at home. I think that might be the case.
During the off time I have just about completed a barbeque in the backyard. This isn’t going to just be a barbeque. It’s going to be a smoker, slow cooker and a barbeque. Here are some pictures of it in process.
Next, I am off to Lake Champlain which is up near Vermont. I fly out to Arkansas in a few weeks to pick up the truck and boat and then drive to Lake Champlain.
I expect to fish for both largemouth and smallmouth and I think fifteen pounds a day may not be enough. Champlain fishes funny, you can really get into the fish and never catch one over three pounds. That won’t work, I would think eighteen a day is possible and that’s probably what I’ll need to have a good finish.
Anytime I fish for smallies in the summer I’ll have a Lucky Craft Gunfish tied on. There is a good chance the LC BDS 2 and 3’s will work well also. I didn’t get a chance to pre-practice and it’s a big place so I’ll have to use my pre-fish days wisely to be successful.
I’ll get another blog out after the practice and before the event to let you know what I find.
We just got back from a week of camping at a lake a couple hours from our house. The lake is called Union Valley Reservoir, and it is up at almost 5000 feet elevation and lake, the area and the scenery was just awesome. skeetreeseinc.com
We’re up at Clear Lake two days after the BASS Elite Series event with Skeet Reese. Skeet gives us some tips on throwing the Lucky Craft Gunfish during the Post Spawn and Summer.
In the second season of Bass Life, small town South Carolina boy and professional Bassmaster Elite 50 angler Casey Ashley goes on the adventure of his life fishing for huge peacock bass deep in the Amazon jungles of Brazil.
