For the Week Ending Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017

Monday, Aug. 14 (from Ron)...Weather didn't look very good, but I rolled the dice. Launched on Milldam from Blackwater Road at about 5 p.m. and caught two dink bass and three dink white perch before the sky darkened and the distant thunder drove me away. Still good to be out.

Tuesday, Aug. 15 (from Ron)...Launched at the drawbridge on upper North Landing to stay close to my car with a pending storm. Fished for about an hour and caught two stripers at 16 and 17 inches, respectively, along with a dink bass, a 2-0, and nothing else. The sky darkened, and I got out of there just before it got ugly. Stripers were hitting a crankbait, and the bass hit a Pop-R. (FYI: Ron nailed it with the term "ugly." Wayne and I were working on my boat at West Neck when "ugly" hit, including some loud thunder and a downpour that lasted at least 30 solid minutes.)

Wednesday, Aug. 16 (from Ron)...It's always a good trip when I get a bowfin! Launched Milldam about 5 p.m. and fished 'till dark. Had a few hits and misses until I tied on a Zoom Fluke, which seemed to be what they wanted. Managed four dink bass, a 1-9 and a 2-7, all of which hit the fluke along grass edges. A beetlespin found three dink white perch but nothing for the stringer. As the sun was setting, tied on a Whopper Plopper and found a really nice bowfin at 6-1. Gave a great fight. Very chubby and healthy bowfin. Also missed a few on the WP--maybe gar. The bowfin was a struggle. The WP treble was between upper and lower lip, so I couldn't get the lip grip on him. Had to grab him with a towel as he thrashed around. A tussle to say the least. Nice to be out late without thunderstorms.

Thursday, Aug. 17 (from Jim)...I fished south to start, using a WP, Pop ShadZ, and small swimbait. Had a bump on the first two baits but no hookups. Came back to the bridge and decided to throw a crankbait and they were on it! Caught a 1.3 and a 13 oz. off one log. Eased above the bridge and caught a 1.8, 1.4 and a genuine dink. Came back to the bridge and caught four tiny crappie. Called it quits about 3:30. With no wind this morning, it was darned muggy. When the wind finally came up, the fish got active. Water temp was 84 degrees at launch and 88 when I pulled out. The fish were on wood--mainly logs, rather than stumps. Water color was super dark and clear.

Thursday, Aug. 17 (from Ron)...The water was a bit high for the bridge limbo (2.8), but I managed to squeeze under and fished Milldam from 5 p.m. 'till dark. Caught several white perch on beetlespin and Whopper Plopper but only one keeper. Seems the bigger ones perhaps have migrated. Also lost one keeper-size crappie yak side, so there will be no tacos. Caught a dink bass and a 1-7--one hit the WP, the other a Fluke. Caught a bowfin, as well. Didn't think they came in extra small size, but this one did--I'm guessing it only would have gone 1.5.

This week (from Charlie)...Due to weather and other commitments, I only made it out once. After last week's success with hollow-bodied frogs, I went looking for grass again. Grass was not on the menu this time, though. Went to plan B, which was crankbaits in grass-free holes. The water was 84° and on the murky side, because the stiff south wind was pushing the water in from the bay, and the current was running strong, stirring thinks up. Not a lot of fish this week but a couple of good ones. I did get a 1-8 on a frog in the grass, but it took three hours. The crankbait event lasted one hour and produced a 2-4 on a Yo-zuri 3DB Wakebait, and a 4-6 on a Yo-zuri 3DS shallow crankbait. The heat and humidity drove me off the water by eleven, but a good haul nevertheless. Maybe next week will have better conditions.

Friday, Aug. 18 (from Ron)...It was a long trip from North Landing drawbridge to Haynes Creek. In short, the juice was not worth the squeeze. Enjoyed being out after the sun hit the treetops and things cooled down a bit. The trip south was dreadful, with all the heat and humidity. Ended up with only three dinks and a 2-2. They were hitting Zoom Flukes and nothing else. Oh well... .

Saturday, Aug. 19 (from Ron)...Fished Back Bay this morning. Very murky and not the best bite, but found four dink bass, as well as a 1-2 and two 1-3s. Had luck with Whopper Plopper when I could throw it, as well as a swimbait. The swimbait is new for me and am still trying to figure it out. Had some company out there, too, as you can see in the accompanying photo.

Sunday, Aug. 20 (from Charlie)...Another great day. Got 25 this morning with the top 5 including a 1-4, two 1-8s, 2-0, and a 4-0, for a total of 10 lbs. 4 ozs. Can’t believe my luck lately. There were five other kayaks in my first hole, so I headed south to find some new ground. Glad they chased me out of the cove. Here’s the 4-0, which I took on a SwimSenko fished over the grass.

Sunday, Aug. 20 (from Ron)...Launched from Munden Pt. Park and made my way to Snake Creek south. Caught nine dinks, plus a 2-7. They all went for SwimSenkos, and now I have none left. They are not very durable, and they're too costly. Wish Z-Man made something similar. Water was very clear, and the best bite was from 0800 to 0900 near the entrance from North Landing. The further I ventured in, the worse the bite got. Grass-covered feeder creeks were where most of the bites occurred. Lost two bowfin and caught three crappie. A friend I was with caught a whole stringer full of crappie. Didn't see any snakes today. Trip back across North Landing was like a shooting zone, what with all the boats and jet skiers...ugh!

Sunday, Aug. 20 (from Ray)...My son, Barry, and I fished Pocaty and part of West Neck today. Ended up with 13 bass, a bowfin (maybe 4 pounds), and a couple perch. The two largest bass weighed 1.4 and 2.4 pounds, and the rest were dinks. The lure that worked best was a weightless swimming Dinger, fished by twitching it slowly on the bottom. The water was fairly clear and 83 degrees. The wind was friendly today. The traffic was very heavy on Pocaty, with kayaks and all kinds of boats.