Monday, April 29 (from Ron)...Had an interesting evening. Started slow with some micro panfish (crappie, white perch, and a sunfish on the micro spinner), then started finding some small bass on a spinner and Senkos in Milldam Creek. As the sun started setting, shifted to topwater, and it was pretty good. Caught 11 bass, with most between 11 and 13 inches. Also had a couple of 17-inchers, and then the big 'un slammed the Pop R. Didn't have my scale, but my guess is maybe 7 lbs.? I base that guess on my previous catches. This thing was a hog that made my drag scream! Missed several as well.
Tuesday, April 30 (from Ron)...Fished Milldam from 5:30 'til dark. Didn't get a tap
until about 7 p.m., then caught a 1-2, 1-4, 2-4 and a 5-8 (22.75-inch citation). Top water bite never materialized; got 'em all on SwimSenkos. The
bites were very subtle. The 5-8 was a real drag-screamer and made my
night. Dead calm, clear skies, and not as good as last night. Two
9-inch white perch hit the trolled beetlespin. Had a few gar strikes, with one that held on for a few
seconds. Surprised I haven't found any bowfin in Milldam yet. Tested the new scale before heading out. Used three
known weights, and the scale was accurate...BUT, I wonder. Couple
years ago, I got a 23.5-inch in August. It was very skinny, and weighed in at
6-1. Oh well, it is what it is. Revised my guesstimate from the 21-incher, and will log it as a 5-5.
Wednesday, May 1 (from Skip)...Skip had good numbers today. Included here are three of about 15 or 20 fish that he put in the boat. He told me that his biggest fish probably would have gone about 2 lbs. Considering he had a limit last Saturday, weighing better than 9 lbs., it would seem that Skip is finding his stride for the 2019 season. Nothing shabby about that last tournament or today's catch, either one.
Wednesday, May 1 (from Ken)...Unlike Skip, I had a slow day, but it primarily was due to my choice of baits. As I've been doing for a few weeks now, I was throwing a big topwater bait most of the day, and as a result, I wasn't getting a lot of bites. However, I managed to boat a total of five bass, including a 1-1 and a 4-6. I also lost three more nice keeper bass that came unbuttoned while putting on a show of their acrobatic abilities. In addition, I came up with a couple of creatures I really wasn't looking for. The first was a gar that likely would have run about 3 or 4 lbs. He snatched the big crankbait I was throwing at the time. Luckily, both hooks were buried on the topside of his snout, so he couldn't saw my line in half. Because of his rowdiness, however, I had no choice but to whack his noggin' a couple of times and cross his eyeballs, so I could remove the hooks. Then, on about my third cast from the end of the day, I saw something snatch my big topwater on the grassline and move off toward deeper water, never once showing himself but taking some drag. Not knowing what I had, I played it carefully, in case it was another big bass. On his first pass forward on my port side, he was too deep for me to see what it was, so I turned and brought him back down the port side, moving him toward the surface the whole time. Once alongside, I saw an ugly head, a couple of beady eyes, and those ever-so-recognizable claws of an old turtle. I was lucky again, in that he didn't have the hooks; he was just grasping the lure in his claws. Accordingly, I just raised straight up with the rod, and he immediately turned loose. Rather than take any more chances, I decided to call it a day and headed for the dock.
Wednesday, May 1 (from Ron)...Fished Back Bay in search of panfish. Found a few. The wind seemed to increase as the sunset, which was odd. Threw the
Whopper Plopper around for a bit to see if I could find a bass, but only got an aggressive
li'l white perch. At least no skunk. Too windy for the Senkos. Didn't see my goose friend.
Thursday, May 2 (from Ron)...Chasing panfish again tonight. Wind was a bear, but found some protection and a few panfish. Didn't target bass, and only used li'l jigs and beetlespin.
Friday, May 3 (from Ron)...Fished upper Back Bay in search of panfish. High water and stiff winds made for a tough trip. Didn't find any panfish but avoided the skunk with a dink and a 2-1 bass on the Whopper Plopper. The new Plopper 75 has the same action but a more pronounced belly, and it is a bit shorter and lighter.
Saturday, May 4, a.m. (from Ron)...Mornings are not my thing. I usually get big crappie at Lake Smith right at sunset, not so much in the morning. Fished from 7:30 to 11 a.m. and found a few little crappie. Also got six bass, including two 2-7s, a 1-6, and three dinks. Productive lures for the bass were the Whopper Plopper, micro spinner, and Senko. Am watching the weather. This morning was supposed to be cloudy, and I didn't have my sunglasses--big mistake!
Saturday, May 4, p.m. (from Ron)...Fished from 5 p.m. beyond dark. First fish on was "a beautiful bowfin" (his words, not mine) that slammed the Whopper Plopper. Had to cut the line after unhooking, due to so many line twists. It was a real mess, but she swam away unharmed. Great fight! Also caught a couple of 10-to-12.5-inch crappie and two sunfish...no bass, but I wasn't really trying.
Sunday, May 5 (from Ron)...Watched the weather and saw a window of opportunity about 6:30 p.m. Fished upper Back Bay 'till dark. Caught three bass at 12, 15 and 27 inches, all on Whopper Plopper. Wanted to get a weight on the 17-incher, but as I was reeling him in, my ultralight with a trolled beetlespin bent way over. Had a 21-inch catfish on it. Some rod management ensued. The WP enticed a couple bites from small white perch, as well as a "really pretty gar." No panfish for the stringer, and the serious storms were well south.
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