Pulled up to lake X (Wehrspann) at approximately 1530 hrs. Air temp:68, Water temp:76, overcast skies with light rain mixed with variable winds up to 15mph. Mission: Catch a limit of five fish over the Nebraska state length limit (
) in 6 hours.
1605 - I motor to a wind blown point and begin to pick it apart with a chatterbait. Wind is starting to pick up now. "Overcast and wind?, these fish should be trying to eat my trolling motor prop" I thought to myself.
1628 - I move off the point to try and find some structure closeby. I pick up my drop shot and stare at my electronics...."It might be harder to find structure than to find a fish in this lake" I said out loud.
1650 - I pitch a smallie beaver up next to a laydown. Something pecks at it. Must have been a bluegill!
1715 - I pick up a norman dd22 and start to fan cast the mouth of a cove. the lure get stuck but wiggles free.
1745 - A loud splash could be heard coming from the shore, followed by the sound of "ribbit, ribbit". "Don't have to tell me twice to pick up my frog rod!" I said to my non-existant co-angler.
1805 - I work a large section of shoreline weeds, brush, and grass with the frog. On what I told myself would be my last cast, I drag kermit off the edge of some weeds before something flushes the toilet underneath him! I boat my first bass of the day, a 2.7lb bass with a jointed rapala crankbait lip ring in his mouth! Bonus!
1825 - By this time I have worked the bank to death with the frog and end up by the dam. I decide to go turn up the trolling motor and work the grassy rip rap with a xcalibur lipless crankbait. A small bass bumps the lure but misses both treble hooks.
1835 - I toss the lipless crankbait up onto the damn and catch a rock. After wiggling it free it pops into the water and immediately a bass inhales it, leaving me with my second bass of the day, 14 inches!
1845 - The crankbait gets stuck in the grass and I rip it free...and into the mouth of my third bass of the day, 13 inches! "Hmm, I could be on to something here" I thought.
1930 - It isn't long before two, three, and four more bass all between 12 and 14 inches fall victim to the lipless crankbait. "This is fun, but i'm not catching any 21" keepers" I said to the invisible co-angler.
1945 - I bust open my 5 dollar subway footlong and start getting crumbs all over my boat while watching the electronics. I pull over some isolated structure
at the mouth of a cove and throw a marker. After a few casts, a small bass picks up the bait on the carolina rig but drops it.
2005 - Knowing I don't have much time left, I begin motoring back to the ramp ripping the lipless out of grass along the shore, but am distracted by the sound and display of fireworks everywhere. Figuring the bass were probably watching them too, I sit down and crack open a cold beverage "x" and enjoy the show untill I am interuppted by the spotlight and sound of a Nebraska parks and wildlife officer telling me that the lake is closed.
Unfortunately I did not catch any fish close to limit length but had a great time with the reaction strikes, and ended up with a little bassthumb and stinky fingers after all.
