Oh Stanley........

Quarantine 2020 has us all going stir crazy and sick with cabin fever. What better way to fix that than a little time on the water? The last couple of weekends have found my son and I exploring a local pond rumored to have a few bigguns lurking about. Let’s set the stage for you: a private pond with no apparent angling pressure filled with patches of lily pads, lay downs, and some overhanging trees. The deepest parts of the pond are right at 8’.  When I learned I could fish this pond through the graces of the owner, I was more than excited as I had been eyeing this spot for years and pondering the potential.

My son was also stoked as this would be his first chance to use his new baitcaster combo he received for his birthday. I armed him with the only line I use on my froggin setups - Sunline FX2 Frog Braid as well as a tackle tray with some plastics and some Scum Frogs. Since my son had never used top water frogs before, I figured Scum Frogs were fairly goof proof and would increase his chances of coming tight if a fish inhaled it.

I loaded up the Hobie Compass and Hobie i11s inflatable as our hulls of choice and loaded up the rest of the gear the night before. I also setup his other rod with a wacky rig in case he got frustrated with froggin. We headed out at first light and were more than pleased when we saw the water that lay before us. A literal Mecca of froggin heaven before our eyes and looked like it hadn’t been touched by any anglers in over 10 years.

Gear for the day:

Rod: Bull Bay Rods Assault Series
Reel: Abu Garcia Revo Inshore Gen 3
Line: Sunline FX2 Frog Braid
Lure: Stanley Ribbit
Terminal tackle: 4/0 weighted swim bait hook
Scent: Powerteam Lures Hog Tonic

My bait of choice should come as no surprise for anyone that has followed me since the beginning - the Stanley Ribbit with a touch of Hog Tonic just to encourage the bass to hold on a tad longer. I started working pad edges and open lanes as well as shaded banks. After about 30 minutes, I had my first bass on the Watermelon Pearl with Hot Feet version. For the next few hours, the action was constant on both trips. Literally a blow up every 20 minutes with not all of them coming tight.

The mornings were filled with typical pond bass ranging in the 14-16” range which was to be expected. Most likely this pond doesn’t have any harvesting occurring, so the bass are all similar in size and fighting over the same food sources. I did notice a few bluegill beds, so I imagine there are a few chunky bluegills amongst the surprises lurking in there. While we didn’t find them on these two outings, we did find a few good ones that would’ve been tournament grade fish in the 17-19” range with my largest measuring in at 19.5”.  My son caught 5 fish in total and lost the same amount. I had better luck landing 8 bass each outing for a total of 16 landed but also had my fair share of misses from smaller bass that were overzealous.  My best five totaled 81.5” - a 19.5”, two at 16” and two at 15”.

While I had moderate success, the high point of the trip for me was watching my son apply the tips I had taught him and catch his first bass on the frog.

It’s always reassuring at the end of the day for me when I am cleaning up my tackle and inspect my Ribbits to find that the heads are shredded up good from where the “teeth” of the bass have chewed up the head so much the color is gone and the bodies of the frog are split open from the vicious strikes and hooksets. Even though the frogs are no longer usable, I made it through two kayak outings and only used one Ribbit per trip. That’s a testimonial for how durable Stanley Ribbits are.

Oh Stanley.........

We plan on coming back again, but next time I’m only bringing the fly rods - one for the bluegills and one for the bass

Until next time, stay safe, use a face mask anytime you will be out in public and take a kid fishing!!

Veterans Day.....

Had the day off from work, since my company honors Veterans Day as a company holiday and paid day off! I only had about a four-five hour window to fish due to other commitments later in the day, so a pre-dawn excursion was in order.  Made my way to the lake and headed out to a spot after some discussion with a fellow Hobie Team member.

As I arrived at the launch, I had to pause and take in the early morning sunrise that was unfolding before me.  Truly an amazing sight to see.  As I unloaded all of my gear and prepared to launch, the sun had crested the horizon and yet another astonishing scene laid before me.

I made my way out to my first spot and worked the area over from top to bottom as best as I could with the little gear I had brought.  I saw a surface swell and thrash of a bass attacking bait, so I grabbed the topwater rod and cast in the vicinity and was rewarded with an almost immediate strike - not a bad way to start after being in the spot for all of 15 minutes.

I had a 3-pronged arsenal today - topwater, mid-level and bottom but all moving baits given that the water temps were still in the mid 60's.  I kept at it, casting in and around this spot for the first three hours of the day, but no more fish were found.  I decided to fish my way back to the launch given that I only had two more hours left.

I made my way into a shallow cove with exposed timber and was rewarded with another topwater strike, right in the nook of an exposed root ball, albeit another juvenile largemouth.  But still a landed fish is better than no fish I always say.

I kept working any structure I could find and was rewarded with my third and final largemouth on the day, yet again, a proud serving member of the juvenile bass brigade made a cameo appearance.

I missed a few others in the same area, but from what i could see, they were members of the toddler class and had no business attempting a strike at my lure 😂😂.

While not the best day for size and numbers, a day on the water is never a bad thing.  As I look back on the day, my plan to use moving baits may have been my downfall today.  As I was heading to the lake, I noticed two things.  One, when I left my house, the weather forecast indicated a chance of rain. Second, as I was driving, I noticed all of the cows along the way at the nearby farms were all laying down.

Hindsight is always 20/20 they say, but I'll chalk it up to another lesson learned for this popular and highly pressured lake.  Looking forward to coming back again and giving it another shot.

In summary, here was today's arsenal:

Kayak: 2019 Hobie Outback
Rods: Bull Bay Rods Stealth Tactical casting and spinning
Reels: Abu Garcia Gen2 Revo Inshore & Shimano Stradic FJ3000
Lures: Whopper Plopper, 6-9' depth & Lipless Crankbaits, FishHead Spin w/ plastic trailer

Lastly, as if the day couldn't be any more perfect, a bald eagle soared over head and watched me as I pulled away. Maybe that was his way of saying thank you for my service.  I say thank you for giving me a reason to serve!

Tight lines! And remember the 120 degree rule - if the combined water temps and air temps are less than 120 degrees (especially with water temps below 60) then you should be wearing proper cold water protective gear!

Hello Darkness My Old Friend......

......I've come to chase you once again!

That's right, another Friday off from work and off I went looking to up my personal best snakehead!

Today's tools for the trip were simple:

Kayak: 2019 Hobie Outback
Stakeout: Power-Pole Micro Shallow Water Anchor
Electronics: Lowrance Elite 7 TI2
Accessories: YakAttack Omega Rod Holders and Lowrance FF Mount
Rods: Bull Bay Rods Tactical Assault and Custom Flipping rods, and an Orvis 8wt Clearwater

Non-sponsored equipment I was using:

Reels: Abu Garcia Revo Inshore GEN2 & GEN3 baitcasters, Orvis Clearwater Large Arbor IV
Lures: Stanley Ribbit, SPRO Popping Frog, Rebel Pop-R and a Cohen's Manbearpig
Lines: Sunline FX2 Frog Braid, and PLINE 20lb Flouroclear
Other Items: ANGLR Bullseye, EGO Slider Landing Net and Fish Grips

I went back to the same spot as last time but explored other areas.  I found my first taker oddly enough on a Rebel Pop-R.  I was working an area and drifting with the wind when I heard a huge flush behind me.  I tried the frog but no luck as the wind had picked up and made the surface a little choppy.  So I switched over to the Pop-R which I had tied on to try and entice bass that were in the area.  I worked the Pop-R back with vigor making a ruckus that would surely irritate a snakehead I hoped.  As the bait approached, I saw the ominous shadow approaching, so I paused my retrieve then gave it one more twitch and that was the ticket.  She inhaled it and immediately started fighting to unhook both sets of trebles buried in her jaw, but to no avail.  First one on the board and it was a nice 25" fatty.

Not a personal best but a decent start after fishing for over two hours and only one half-hearted swipe at my Ribbit and a lazy follow from a short one on the fly.  I kept working the area until the winds picked up in earnest to the tune of 10mph which is normally not bad but in a narrow creek, it creates a wind tunnel effect.

I drifted along and found another shortie that fell prey to a SPRO Popping Frog and measuring in at 18" but the coloring on this one was amazing.

I kept the wind at my back and kept drifting and casting.  I finally found myself in water that was too shallow to proceed, so I made my way slowly back working every little pocket and was rewarded with two more quality snakeheads - another 24-25" chunk

 and my new personal best measuring in at a whopping 31"+.  I say plus because my measuring board tops out at 30" and this was over an inch past that mark.

The rest of the day was a bust, because the winds started blowing stronger making casting windows less than optimal, so I packed it in and headed back to the launch.

All in all a good day - landed 4 and had two other opportunities that fell short.  If you haven't tried chasing snakeheads, you should.  I know I'll be back at it again and soon.

Until next time, tight lines and stay safe out there!