The next time you’re kayak fishing for some deeper bass - maybe hugging some rocks around 15’, or suspended at 20’-25’ - you may want to try a slightly un-orthodox presentation. Have you ever tried swimming a drop-shot rig?
Fishing bass during the spawn, in particular bedding bass - what a touchy subject! If you ask ten bass fishermen their thoughts, the answers will vary from “never” to “situation” to “always”, and the discussions on the subject sound like presidential debates. Let us delve into the “situation”. Why? Because this is the one I adhere to, and I am going to go over the thought process, baits, and what to look for.
The Gamakatsu Shaky head and Zoom Magnum Trick Worm did it again for me. The wind was absolutely brutal. Sustained 30 and gusting to 40 tough conditions for any kayak fisherman. I had to get creative to finding a spot that offered some protection. We've had a ton of rain this past week in my part of Oklahoma, so the river I normally fish was up and had a lot of current. It's been very low all year with our drought conditions, so I was glad to see it up and running. Seems like it needed a good "flushing out."
I often find myself heading to McNeely Lake for a quick trip especially when the creeks are blown out and I can’t chase the brown fish. McNeely is a small lake inside the Louisville, Kentucky city limits. It is often overlooked by bass fisherman because of its small size and motor restriction. Only electric motors are allowed. The lake also had a bad shad overpopulation problem back in the 80’s which made bass fishing and pan fishing poor at best.
So I will start off with an experience I had recently. It was early in the morning, the air temps were warm, the water was cool to the touch and there was a misty fog in the air. I was sitting on an edge of early spring lily pads, there where frogs peeping in the reeds on the water line. I was tying on a senko, my go to bait, when I heard a splash in the water. I looked up to see one of the frogs moving through the water. He was tiny, only about the size of a half dollar with lanky legs trailing behind.
While surfing the web last night I stumbed across some pretty sick fishing gear. The guys at Bassaholics have taken modern day trends and merged it with a passion for catching large bass, the results, some truly awesome clothing.