Storm Front Fishing

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September 3rd 2018

 

Allen & I almost cancelled the trip today due to the weather forecast, but decided to try for a half day instead. He brought along his two sons, Matt & Alex and to our surprise, the weather cooperated. Who would have thought that the weathermen could be wrong?

They were wanting to fish for bass so I headed to an area that had been holding only big ones lately. When I arrived I noticed that the water was quite a bit off colored and not gin clear like the previous days. Yesterdays heavy rain and winds had muddied it up and I wasn’t sure what to expect!

With all three throwing soft plastics, they covered the area pretty thoroughly. Unfortunately nobody had a bite! I made three casts with the same bits and immediately set into a big bass. Too bad it didn’t stay pinned but at least it was a sign that they were still here! We fished for about 30 minutes longer with only a few more missed strikes, then moved on.

I made a short run to another area nearby but only one fish managed to make it to the boat. With time restrictions from a half day, I didn’t stay long and jumped to another spot hoping for better results.

Allen & Matt doubled up on their first casts and I thought they were going to pound on them afterwards. To my surprise, they were the only fish hooked in the area again! We remained here for another 30 minutes or so but didn’t manage another strike.

Our next stop was an open water shoal that I was sure would produce better results. Within minutes after arriving, Matt was once again tight lined to a really good bass. It was nice to finally see some quality on the end of their lines! I shot a few pics before he released his catch and they resumed fishing.

Allen had missed a couple of strikes and eventually broke off on one of his hook sets, leading me to believe that a toothy critter might be in the area. I normally don’t see pike here but you never know! Alex also missed a few strikes and came in with balled up baits from reacting too quickly. Matt on the other hand eventually got crushed and hooked up on a huge smallie. When I saw it take to the air, I realized just how big it was and quickly went for the net. It put up one hell of a fight before he was able to land the bass. Several good pics were taken before the release again.

After another 30 minutes with only missed fish, I decided to move to one last area to try and get Alex into a few fish. He was the only one not having landed a thing and I needed to change that fast! This place didn’t meet up to my expectations but he did finally hook into a few and landed one before we left. Although not big, it did get the skunk off his back for the day!

We had noticed that the weather was pretty dark in many areas of the lake, but we were still in sunshine. A quick check on the radar confirmed that we were safe and I headed to an open water spot to show them how to drop shot. I was hoping to get them a bunch more fish before we had to leave!

As soon as I arrived, I quickly set up their rods and gave a quick demonstration with a cast. Almost on cue, I reeled up on a heavy fish and passed the rod to Alex to land. I went for the net and was shocked to see that it was gone when I returned! Oh well, still a good sign that there were fish here!

With each drift over this flat, several bites were had. Unfortunately almost every one was either missed or lost along the way to the boat. Matt did manage to land a small walleye though, that fell off in the net as soon as I reached for it. His father also caught a high end keeper that he returned after a couple of pics. I’m not really sure why so many fish were being missed but the weather may have had something to do with it. Storms were all around us and thunder was being heard as well. It was just a matter of time before the electricity would be seen!

We had stayed out longer with the tough fishing but were about to call it a day. One last unproductive drift and we were done! It was 12:30 and we had seen an entire morning without any rain. It was time to go!

They may not have caught as many fish as I would have liked to see, but they definitely had their fair share of chances. Matt also landed one of the largest bass this season and definitely his personal best! Factor in the nice weather and we actually had a pretty good day on the water! I’m sure glad neither of us had listened to the weather forecast as they definitely screwed up once again! Hats off to them for another perfectly accurate prediction!!