Bass Fishing 101

Alex & Lorne decided to spend a half day fishing with me today and were glad they did! I hadn’t fished with them for several years and was happy to see both of them back again. We met at the boat ramp at 7:30 and I knew it was going to be a great day! The weather was a humid one with forecasted winds from the N/W at 5 to 10 knots that never happened. Air temps were at 73 degrees and were to top out close to 80 before it was all over. The water had been receding a bit every day and along with the drop, clearing up as well. Visibility was now starting to get good and the fish were aggressive! I tried to instruct the guys on what to look for and how to feel the strikes when the bass picked up the jigs but it wasn’t easy. They were both eager to get a line in the water after yesterday’s telephone conversation. When asked, I told them that the bass were on fire and we were just pounding high numbers of quality fish each & every day. This apparently got them frazzled as the first few bites went unnoticed. I had to tell them to set the hook several times and it always ended in disappointment when they couldn’t get the smallies pinned. Too much slack in the line never gets a solid hookset and they just kept coming off! Alex & Lorne were having a hard time feeling the fish hit and the rocks & bites all felt the same to them at the start. Even though they did manage to land several decent sized fish, they were missing more than they could get to the net. All this was about to change however as there were plenty of chances to adjust to. Lorne was definitely hooking more fish and landed quite a few of them in the process while Alex continued to struggle. He was getting them on but not having much luck with the landing. Although this became frustrating, it was a good learning process and one that he would remember. With each and every fish lost a slight change was made until he had the right process and it was game on. From that point on the fish were in trouble and he went full circle. Even the rocks were feeling like rocks and he wasn’t setting on them anymore. When snagged, he was able to just snap it back out and monopolized on several of the reaction strikes that occurred in the process. He had officially graduated! We hung in here until the fish really slowed and bites were getting hard to come by. By now the sun was high and without and wind at all the water went like glass. No current means less biters and time to relocate. The next area had us starting in the sunshine but not long after, clouds rolled in and seeing weed beds became difficult. I immediately switched them up to senko’s and showed them how to fish them. It didn’t take long and both guys were hooking up and this time landing as well. Although we didn’t find any of the real giants, 3 pounders were still a lot of fun to fight. By now the clouds were darkening the sky even more and some of them were looking a little threatening. Once the thunder was heard, I knew the electricity wasn’t far behind. Time to blaze! I didn’t want to take any chances and opened her up all the way back to the dock. Along the way I ran through a wall of water but at this speed, the windshield took all the impact and I just kept going. I think there was even a little hail somewhere in the mix as Alex was getting hit pretty good in the back. Once at the dock, they bolted for the car and I too for the truck & trailer. It didn’t take me long to load the boat and it was immediately out of the water. Nothing sends me off the lake faster than the possibility of electricity. Safety always comes first as the fish will always be there, for another day! In the half day fished both Alex & Lorne got a sample of just what this lake has to offer and it was full of action. They realized now that what I had told them the previous day was the truth and the bass were definitely on fire. No fish tales here! A great day was had by all despite the attempt from good old “Mother Nature”!!!