Rainy days aren't so bad....

Lately, Mother Nature has had a vendetta against me on my Fridays off.  I vowed to go regardless last week and was rewarded with a fairly productive day.  I decided on a three rod (Bull Bay Rods of course) - three lure challenge.  The rods selected were:

• Spectrum Inshore spinning rod
• Tactical Assault AR-15 Series rod
• Custom Senzi Grip casting rod

The lures chosen to cover the water column, including one I had almost forgotten about.....

• Topwater - Capt. Ken Daubert Clone Frog
• Moving - PowerTeam Lures 4.8" JP Hammershad
• Bottom - PowerTeam Lures Gator on a Carolina Rig

 
The first two are confidence baits for me, but I have to confess that I have never even tried a Carolina Rig in freshwater for bass prior to this day.  I launched fairly early in the morning in a light drizzle and stared with the Hammershad first to see if I could get a reaction bite.  Within 30 minutes, I had my first fish - a slimy 18" Chain Pickerel, followed by a shortish 14" chain pickerel a few minutes later.

 

I switched over to the Clone Frog as I neared the lily pad fields and spent the next two hours working the pads cuts and edges.  I missed the first two fish when they spit the frog before I could even set the hook.  I doused the frog with some PowerTeam Lures Hog Tonic and went back to work.  A few minutes later, I approached one of my go-to spots on this pond.   I cast the frog over the laydown with the line laying across a limb atop the water.  I dragged the frog over slowly and plopped it down.  A couple twitches was all it took before a fat 17" Largemouth Bass sucked it in and held on long enough for a hookset.  I managed to capture a topwater strike finally as well using my trusty YakAttack Panfish Portrait.....

Once the rain stopped, the skies started to clear and the frog bite disappeared.  I switched back to the Hammershad for a bit and quickly landed a few more pickerel and a couple more largemouth.  By the time I had made the full circuit of the pond, I switched over to the Carolina rigged Gator.  I worked the deeper cuts in the pond to no avail for an hour.  I switched back to the Hammershad and landed some small pickerel and a couple small bass.  By that time, the winds were starting to pick up as another storm was approaching, so I decided to call it a day.  Final tally on the day - 12 fish (7 pickerel and 5 bass).   All in all, a great day on the water.  Here are a few pics from the day of the better quality fish....