Fished My Plan All Day Long...

And was certain I had saved the best spot for last, but I was wrong. Part of the problem, I think, was that, just as I arrived at this spot, the clouds mostly disappeared, and the wind really kicked into high gear. I not only didn't catch any fish in that hole, I didn't even get a strike.

As a result, I ended the day with a total of seven bass, including three dinks, a 1-0, 1-8, 1-11, and a 2-13 (pictured right). He was my first fish of the day, so my adrenaline got to pumping early on. I easily missed at least a dozen more fish, likely because I was setting the hook before they had the bait good. All but two of today's catch went for my INT bait. Those two exceptions fell for a popper. I had a wakebait tied on but never threw it once, because I was getting strikes regularly.

Oh, and I nearly forgot that I also caught my first bowfin in a long while--probably about 4 lbs. worth. Unlike Charlie and Ron, I simply unhook these fish as quickly as possible and let them go. There's no way I'm going to pause to weigh the fish or to take a photo as my two friends do.

My buddy, Skip, was out today, too, and although he was fishing a different area than me, he likewise found a good bite. He lost track of the count but told me he's sure he caught at least 20 or 25 bass, the best of which was the 1-8 pictured here.

In keeping my promise to him this afternoon, I'm not going to mention the bait he was using. We have a tourney this Saturday, and he doesn't want everyone knowing what his bait was today. He stayed put in one spot all day, too, because the bite was just that good. He told me that he put four in the boat from the same spot.

Ron's report from yesterday hit my inbox too late last night for me to include it with my post, so I'm doing it tonight, instead.

He launched at Milldam and fished from 5:30 to 8 p.m. His lone catch for the night was a 19-inch bowfin, which he caught on a Senko.

"I tried all my favorite spots and lures," said Ron, "but the bite was non-existent. Zero baitfish were visible, there were no wakes, and nothing was busting the surface. It was like a dead zone. Neither my friend, nor I, had a swipe on a topwater or tap on anything else all night."

Ron also noted that a strong in-flowing current complicated the bridge limbo on the way back.

"Who knows what turns the bite on or off?" he said in conclusion, adding, "I had to settle for a beautiful evening of catching a bunch of grass. Oh well."

With the high water, Ron planned a trip to the upper North Landing tonight. His targeted species: bowfin.

Having witnessed some surface action, he started throwing an XTS Minnow. He spent the next 20 minutes landing nine stripers--the biggest a 19-inch 2-2 (see left), which is just shy of the 20-inch pan-eligible criteria. "I was catching 'em on nearly every cast," he said.  

At that point, Ron quit the striper blitz and headed to his planned destination creek. En route, he managed to boat another striper while trolling. Once in his planned creek, he found a 1-2 bass (see right) on the XTS and then a beautiful 4-lb. 3-oz. bowfin (see below) on the Whopper Plopper.

"Fishing topwater was difficult," Ron allowed, "due to surface debris as a result of the outflowing water."

As darkness approached, Ron headed back. Just before finishing, though, he caught the 11th striper of the night on the XTS.

"A gorgeous evening and the best striper bite I have found in North Landing," he said. "A real blast catching those hard fighters. Just wish I could have found more bowfin."