For the Week Ending Sunday, May 14, 2017

Wednesday, May 10, 2017...After two weeks without wetting a line, I was more than a little ready to get back into the thick of things today. The best part of the whole day is that the fish decided to cooperate with me. There was a Whopper Popper bite from 7:15 this morning when I started to 2:15 this afternoon when I made the last cast and caught my last fish. I boated a total of 10 bass, including 6 dinks, a 1-2, 1-5, 1-6, and 1-9. Easily missed at least that many more strikes that came unbuttoned en route to the boat or immediately dived in wood after I set the hook and managed to escape. Any day I have a topwater bite the whole time I'm on the water is an excellent day, as far as I'm concerned. Can't you tell I'm smiling from ear to ear? The fishing, however, isn't the only thing I'm smiling about. Wayne did a little more tweaking on my outboard this afternoon, and the subsequent test run finally went flawlessly. My ol' Skeeter popped out of the hole faster than she has in a long while. Suffice it to say she was shi..in' and gittin' all the way up West Neck Creek and back, without a single hiccup.

Wednesday, May 10, 2017...Ran into my good friend, Skip, about mid-morning in one of the West Neck coves. He chased 'em on one shoreline, while I tried to corral 'em on the other. Pictured here are two of the four fish he caught. Like me, he had some fish that got away before he could touch 'em. Skip was working a wacky worm, Pop R, and a fluke. Since neither of us has a partner lined up for the tournament this Saturday, we have decided to pool our resources and see how we work as a team. Haven't decided yet which boat we will be taking, but we still have a couple of days to work out that detail.

Wednesday, May 10, 2017...It was an evening of dinks for Ron. For the first two hours in Milldam, he couldn't find anything over a few inches, including white perch, yellow perch, sunfish, crappie, and small bass on the beetlespin. He also caught another small bass and had a few blowups on the Whopper Plopper. As darkness approached, he tried the XTS Minnow along the grass line and landed a decent 3-13 bass. Two of the crappie were pan size (at 10 and 11 inches). "At least, the bite was consistent," said Ron. "A nice variety and a nice change of pace from the saltwater fishing," he concluded.

Thursday, May 11, 2017..."Launched at Lotus Garden on Sandbridge Road for a windy, rainy sort of miserable trip this evening," said Ron. He went on to say he caught a whole bunch of very small panfish: a few keeper crappie and white perch, two chain pickerel (17- and 19-inchers), and four bass, but none over 13 inches. All the panfish were caught on a beetlespin. The bass fell for the Whopper Plopper. Ron reported having no luck at all this evening with the XTS Minnow.

Saturday, May 13, 2017...Today's weather demanded another protected creek trip. Ron fished Milldam from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., landing six bass (1-11, 1-14, 2-7 and three dinks) and losing a few. He also found some crappie and white perch on the beetlespin. A buddy with him caught chain pickerel, bass, crappie, yellow and white perch, sunfish and striper for a seven-species day. The bass were back in the feeders and aggressively striking the whopper plopper. It was very clear in Snake Creek and eastern Milldam but a murky mess back by Blackwater Road.

Sunday, May 14, 2017...When he launched today, things weren't looking good for Ron. The water was very murky, but that didn't stop him from peddling to Snake Creek, where he found clear water and an OK bite. He lost a decent bass on the Whopper Plopper and a nice bowfin on the beetlespin, but managed to boat two small white perch, one sunfish, and a bass that didn't really qualify. "Also had a slew of short strikes and misses," concluded Ron.