Big Indiana Bass

The Ideal Fishing Report

If there is such a thing, this would be a great template to use: Rick's Ultimate Bass Erie Report. Big fish pics, graph pics, Aqua-Vu pics, other neat events along with weather and water conditions and baits used. About as well-rounded and informative as it gets. Thanks Rick...

McWilliams in 3rd

Good news from the BFL All-American tourney going on at Lake Hamilton in Arkansas. Local angler and friend Terry McWilliams is currently sitting in 3rd place after the first day. You can find the current standings HERE. You'll remember that Terry had a great 4th place showing in the Bassmasters Classic the year before. Terry has been a staple on the various state bass circuits and has made the Indiana State Team countless times. Since retiring, he has also started a local guide service call Fish Indy.

UPDATE (5/30 - 11:00 PM): Fishing was much tougher today than on Day 1. Terry weighed another limit of bass today going 5-05 to remain in 3rd place just 1-10 off the lead. He has made the final Top-10 cut and will be fishing along with just the other 9 anglers for all the marbles tomorrow. One pound ten ounces doesn't sound like much, but is a pretty big deficit for a lake like Hamilton. Hopefully he'll get the big bite he needs to upgrade his Day 3 sack.

UPDATE (5/31 - 11:00 PM): The bite got even tougher today on L. Hamilton. Only 6 of the 10 guys left fishing weighed a limit, and no one touched the 7 pound mark today. That made for a shakeup in the leader board. Terry ended up with just 4 bass today and slid to a 7th place finish. On the good side, that ended up netting him a cool $10,000 for the effort. I'm sure it isn't where he wanted to be, but a fine showing none the less.

Back at it Again

Back to Eagle Creek for more crappie action today. Another late afternoon trip. This time the weather was a little hazy, a little warmer, but the wind had switched almost 180 degrees and was coming out of the S/SE at a slightly heavier clip than yesterday. This made some areas I fished yesterday almost unfishable today. Bite stayed about the same with a lot of little ones and another 16 "keepers". Jigs were again the ticket for us and we tended to stay out toward the deep side of things. Best bite for larger fish seemed to be in the 8-15' range. Lots more really fat females to hand today. Size to 12.5", so a slight notch up on the overall quality. Toward the end of the day we hit one shallow area (<3') and probably caught about 20 crappie in a small area no bigger than my boat. Actually it was all from a single small laydown tree. These came on a jig and bobber combo. There is something inherently basic and thrilling, regardless of age or experience level, about watching your float get pulled down under the water and moving slowly out of sight at that recognizable angle and pace that only a fish can produce.

Maxing and Relaxing

Trying to avoid the holiday traffic on most of our lakes right now. I have no plans of getting ran over or beat to death while out in my little boat. So taking advantage of the break, I headed over to Eagle Creek to chase crappie. I expected them to be up shallow and spawning, but after a little searching I found many of them actually pulled back out and sitting in 8-15' of water. Found two good areas that held a little better quality fish. Was able to connect with 18 "keepers" in 3 hours, keepers being 10" or greater. Nothing bigger than 11.5", but it was obvious that many of the fish were females that had yet to release their eggs. Water temps were running 63-65 degrees, so I imagine things should be happening fairly soon.

 

(Mis)Guessing the Bite

Sometimes fish just don't react the way you expect them to, probably because they don't read the same articles that we do. Got out a few hours early today due to a late afternoon meeting. Once that was over, and it apeared that the rain would stay away, I grabbed the boat and headed out to the lake for 3 hours. According to the weather stats we had a slowly rising barometer, north/northeast winds at 7-10 mph, and a temperature in the mid-50's. Mostly cloudy skies with occasional light sprinles. Sounds like the middle of a cold front. The bite should be tough, right?

I ended up catching 47 bass...Possibly the best numbers outing of the year to date. Most all were caught on crankbaits and buzzbaits. Not as many bites on the buzzer but slightly better quality. Nothing really huge either. Best fish probably went close to 3 pounds with most in the 1.5 - 2.25 pound range. So I'm not going to complain about the fish not following "protocol" given the conditions, but it just goes to show you that you can't necessarily predict a bite based on the weather.

Another interesting thing was that this lake was treated for weeds back on Tuesday (3 days ago) using Aquathol. The lake has turned darker though not a lot less clear if that makes sense. Some weed pieces floating around as vegetation starts dieing. Aquathol dissipates fairly quickly, but it still has a half life of 4-7 days according to the literature. Several people were concerned about the treatment effect on fish and fishing. Apparently the fish could care less as the study I posted the other day suggested. I also spoke with several individuals catching nice redear today, so the panfish weren't hurting either.

More Aquatic Vegetation Research

The local lake just received an application of Aquathol K. One of the questions that arose was whether the timing of the treatment relative to the spawning season was going to be a problem. New research out suggests no negative effects on largemouth bass spawning:

Impacts of Aquathol K Applications on Largemouth Bass Spawning Behavior and Production of Young Fish

Mike Maceina, Department of Fisheries, Auburn University, Alabama

The first year of a two year project that examined the effects of direct spraying of Aquathol K on nesting largemouth bass in small ponds was completed. Aquathol K was applied at the approved rate of 3 ppm in three 0.1 hectare ponds in March 2005 as largemouth bass initiated spawning. Water was applied in a similar fashion to three other 0.1 hectare ponds. Aquathol K did not impact largemouth bass nesting activity; spawning behavior and activity was similar to ponds treated with water. Production and growth of young largemouth bass measured after spawning ended was similar between ponds treated with Aquathol K and control ponds.

This lake is scheduled to receive a Sonar treatment a little later in the year. Several studies on both of these compounds and their effects on largemouth bass were previously covered in the following post: More Veggie Research

Tons More Articles

I came across the following article which really kind of resonated with me when I read it. I believe because of some of the things I've seen or heard of from bass anglers this year, along with my own stepping down from much of the tournment scene. The article is "What Do You Give Back to the Sport of Bass Fishing?" by Darin Roddick-Small. It is one of a whole bunch of good articles from a variety of bassing individuals over at the Future Bass website. Check them out if you haven't already seen them.

A Temporary Diversion

"His gray matter is cluttered with the whereabouts of "bulls" (male bluegills 9 inches or longer), and it’s this knowledge that is so coveted yet hard to come by. Waters that harbor pieplates (giant ’gills) are rare. Their names are seldom uttered publicly, to anyone, anywhere, especially at bait shops, where the walls have ears." - from "Cult of the Bluegill"

There are really only two times out of the year that I'll set my bass sticks down for any length of time. One of those times is upon us now in central Indiana. Tis the season of the panfish, at least for about the next 3-4 weeks. Crappie are up shallow and in the process of spawning, or at least very close. I spent the better part of the weekend chasing crappie and gills locally, and things are starting to happen. One of the more interesting biological changes with crappie is a type of sexual dimorphism. Male crappie turn very black for a period around the spawn, even the "white" versions. The stronger the spawning hormones the stronger the effect. Take a look at the crappie in the picture I took this weekend to see what I'm referring to (click to enlarge). The male crappie in this lake are just crazy dark right now. In fact, most of the crappie I caught were all males. Females won't have this coloration and stand out like a sore thumb when caught. I hit one small group of females staged around a stump just biding their time, but the males are up shallow around cover and probably nesting, or at least getting everything ready for the females.

The other panfish in question is the bluegill, or more appropriately both bluegill and redear. I've got this hidden passion for big gills, absolutely one of my favorite fish to catch. Those are just starting to make their way in toward the shallows right now. Redear will actually spawn first, just a tad earlier and a bit deeper than the bluegill. The peak probably won't hit for another 3-4 weeks as our water is still in the low 60's. I was able to tangle with over half a dozen nice gills and redears this weekend. Not a lot but enough to get the fires going.

I think part of my deep respect for big gills is tied to their biology. Waters that produce big gills tend to be pretty rare. The big girls are easily fished down once word spreads, and unlike a lake that produces big crappie that can rebound and be quite cyclical but regular, a big gill factory might not ever return to its former glory. I've been accumulating a lot of scientific studies on big gill waters, what creates them and what can be done to sustain them. It's all rather fascinating. One non-journal article though that will give you a good idea of what I'm referencing in an easy read is this piece by Mike Kruse, Missouri Fisheries Research Biologist entitled "Bluegill: The Fly Fisher's Neglected Princess". It's a slightly older article, but recent research backs it up quite well. As such, I have very little respect for people who regularly show off big bags of large gills headed for the dinner table. An example of the size fish I was catching this weekend is in the picture.

Rock Hopping 201: Answers

I've gathered some pictures and am ready to explain how I would approach the area in question from a bank angling perspective. I've marked the original map with 4 section numbers representing the 4 different areas. The reason will be a little more clear in a few moments. First though, lets talk about what I see most people doing. They grab their tackle, head to section 2 or 4 and go out to the end of the docks and start fan casting out into the open water. If they don't get bit, and they usually don't, after a bit you'll see them walk down further along the line of docks and back out to the end of another dock and repeat the casting. If they only realized the majority of the quickly catchable bass were right under their feet.

Area 1: Upon closer inspection this area turns out to be a large shallow flat with posts for docking boats and several boats pulled up to the bank and tied off. As such, one of the fastest and best ways to cover this area is with a shallow running crankbait. You can quickly cast the flat, run the crank by the poles and even parallel to the pontoon boats which provide the bulk of the shade or cover in this area. This is especially productive on cloudy or breezy days. On sunny days I'll usually fish something slower and more vertical such as a dropshot or a wacky rigged worm. The trick though is to only focus on the specific posts and tight to the pontoon boats. You throw out no further than the end of the boat and work the short stretch back to shore. We're talking 25' and less here in all instances. On posts, it is literally a pitch to the post and a few seconds for the bait to drop and work beside the post. No bites, immediately move to the next one. Either way you can quickly cover this entire area in less than 20 minutes most days.

Area 2: This is a deeper area with permanent concrete docks forming boat slips. While the flat in area 1 is 1'-4', the docks in this stretch run 2'-6' deep. The real key here is looking closer at the docks. You'll notice two permanent large supporting posts holding each one up, one in the middle and one near the end. These docks are also much narrower tha a pontoon boat. As such, the key target here are the two posts. These can easily be targeted from one side only due to their narrow width, and simply pitching a slightly faster drop bait to each post (two pitches per dock) then moving on gets the job done. If I'm really in a hurry, a single pitch to the far supporting post followed by working the bait to the middle post will work in most instances. They get one chance to bite before I move to the next walkway and repeat. My favorite setup here is a Little Pek jighead from RedShad teamed up with some sort of plastic. Check out the link to see all the rigging options available! I can easily take a single platics bag and throw in 3 or 4 different types of plastics (2-3 of each) and have all the variety I need for any given day. No need for weights, hooks, pegging toothpicks or any extra gear. Remember, efficiency is what I'm striving for. I want one little baggie of stuff to throw in my pocket along with a pair of long nose pliers - that's it!

Area 3: This area is basically the ramp and the straight riprap banks leading into and out of the area. This calls for parallel casting right down the shoreline and within 3'-5' foot of the bank. Here again, two options already mentioned work fine. A shallow crank for stained water, cloudy skies or breezy days or a Little Pek jighead rigged with a plastic bait and fished slightly slower and on slightly shorter casts down the rocks. One really cool thing to keep in mind is that many ramp areas have either washouts at the end of them from all the loading of boats or some type of reinforcement material to prevent these washouts. In this case, they applied a line of riprap that runs straight across the entire ramp about 15' out from the bank. This little hidden jewel is a bass magnet. The jighead teamed with a plastic craw-type bait and pitched parallel to that line of deeper (4'-5') riprap at the end of the ramp will produce as many as a dozen bass on a good day. As long as you can catch this area when the boat traffic is light allowing casts across the loading area, you can score big here. The fish in the pic came from this area on just such a setup.

Area 4: This final area is a small stretch but with a lot of options making it potentially very productive. You have a shallow sand beach guarded by a pair of riprap points that both lead into deeper water as well as a couple docks over that deeper water with the supporting posts similar to Area 2. Key spots are the rock points which form the transition. The crankbait tossed a few times over each point from a cuple different angles covers the area well. From either point I can also cast straight across the beach area when no one is around. I can also parallel crank each side of the 2 docks as well as step out onto the two docks and then parallel several casts in either direction down the riprap shoreline. Again, on sunny calm days the plastic/jighead combination gets the nod in the same places working tighter to the bottom as well as directly on the supporting dock posts.

This pretty much covers the entire area with a limited amount of baits. One bag of assorted plastics with jigheads and a small container with 2 cranks tucked inside the plastics bag is all I need most days. If I know conditions are going to be prime (or limiting) for a certain technique, many times I'll only bring 2 baits. In all cases I only bring one rod that will handle all the options for the day. A little pre-planning here can pay off. Also keep in mind that you can adjust all these suggestions based on your exact water and weather conditions. Some days (calm and cloudy) the only bait I'll bring is a topwater fished parallel to banks and docks or immediately next to posts. On other days I've made the entire trip with a single spinnerbait. The point I'm trying to make is to not drag a whole set of rods and a full box of tackle with you. In most cases they're not needed and will only slow you down and cause headaches. The more you fish and learn your bank areas, the more refined your tackle selection will become. Move quick and fish intelligently - the system works!

Glenn Flint Article

I haven't even had a chance to see it yet, but a friend told me today that an article on fishing Glenn Flint Reservoir that I contributed to hit the mailboxes this week. The article appears in the June issue of Indiana Game & Fish magazine which subscribers are now receiving. Not sure if it has hit the newstands yet, but it should shortly. There is a decent chance that it will appear online at their website after a bit (another month?) and if so I'll link to it in another post. Kind of anxious to see the article myself to see how it turned out.

Rock Hopping 201

This one is for all the bank bound bassers reading the blog. How many bass do you see in this picture? Alright, not a good question. How about, "How would you approach the following bank fishing situation?" I wrote an article a few years back that has been published/posted on several fishing websites (on this site also on the main page under 'Articles') entitled "Rock Hopping 101" about my thoughts on approaching bass fishing from a bank anglers perspective. Above is a picture of an area of bank I regularly fish when time is short or I don't feel like dragging the boat out. I can easily access the area between the red hash marks crossing the bank/shoreline interface and then following either set of arrows to the other end. Not a really long stretch but it regularly gives up bass, as many as 15-20 per trip.

Think about how you'd approach this stretch of bank in the most efficient way possible while still maximizing your odds of catching bass. As a guideline, I usually never have more than 1-1.5 hours to fish here at any given time. Read my article to get an idea of what I'd probably do, and then I'll post again in a day or two with a lot more detail about baits/areas/techniques, etc. for how I routinely approach this section.

Another So-So Weekend

Once again the bite was a struggle this weekend, coupled with a complete rainout on Sunday. Saturday morning I sat for about 30 minutes and watched several spawning largemouth bass from various shore positions on a local lake. One further back in the cove was a single small male sitting locked on a bed. Not much activity there. Another was a pretty sizable fish, perhaps 3-4 pounds sitting in about 3' of water on a nest next to the ramp. I don't know if it was a male or female due to size, but it was obviously locked on. The last was a couple, the male locked onto a bed and the larger female cruising back and forth over the same 10' stretch of bank about 25' further down. Couldn't stick around much longer to watch, but it was interesting to just see them 'doing their thing'. I didn't have any rods with me so I couldn't even play with them.

Later that afternoon I hooked up the boat and headed out to Waveland. Didn't arrive until around 2 PM and counted 45 trailers in the lot. That's a bunch for this little lake. There was a tourney going on so I figured the lake would be covered and beat pretty well. What I didn't expect given our nearly 2" of rain was low, clear water along with those darned east winds again. Motored around for a while and tried to stay out of everyones way, pulling in and fishing some shallow flats and shoreline areas out of the main traffic patterns. It became pretty obvious that the bite was going to be tough for whatever reason.

I hung around until 7PM and finally figured a little something out. Finished the afternoon with 8 keepers and a smattering of little guys, probably 20 fish or so in total. Nothing big though. Weeds are reaching the top and starting to bend over making many baits a bit difficult to fish. I also never saw any spawners which I thought was unusual given how many I saw just in the one cove earlier in the day on the other lake. The fish made me really work for them today. Best fish came on a buzzbait along with several smaller ones. That was about it for the shallow bite. One blowup on the frog and turned a nice fish on the Chatter but didn't hook up. Caught a couple on a jig and plastic but the majority of the fish came cranking just a bit deeper out in 5-8 foot of water.

As I said, Sunday was a washout, or maybe more appropriately a blow out considering the 25-40 mph winds. Of course, I shouldn't have expected anything better considering that it has been scientifically proven to rain more on weekends.