Category: Triple Hooked Blogs

The boys had their Kansas Youth 3rd Qualifier Tournament on Big Hill this last Sunday. We headed down Saturday earlier to prefish while the high school tournament was going on. The high school had a great turnout with 35 boats, and it took about 11.79lbs to win.  There was one 7lb caught and multiple fish above 4 pounds. The weather was awesome. Boys and I had a hard time getting on any of the good spots, but were able to catch a couple of small bass and lost one fishing pole. Nick was snagged.  When I got it loose, I handed it too him. I thought he had it so I let go.  It fell, hit the boat, and went overboard. We tried to get it back for about 15 minutes; no luck.  As I was trying to get the rod, a drum hit my crankbait. So, we called it a day.  Also, we needed to get off the lake before the high school kids in order to be able watch the high school kids weigh-in.

Next day was the youth tournament.  The wind was blowing out of the northeast about 11 miles per hour when we started, and was supposed to get up to 18 mph. The temperature was about 38 degrees to start, and was going to get up to 47. The tournament director decided to move the takeoff to another ramp so we could unload and loaded easier. I wasn’t sure where to start with the upper lake 48-51 degrees and the lower end 45-49 degrees. We decided to start down by the other boat ramp near where the high school had released fish the day before. We couldn’t stay there for very long with the wind. We then moved to some main lake points throwing jerkbaits. After about an hour, we decided to go up past the bridge where the water was warmer, and had a little more color to it.  We threw soft plastic, jerkbaits and spinnerbaits. We fished up past the bridge until the scheduled break at 10 am. Not much was going on, and we heard from another team they had not caught anything either. So, we decided to go fish the lower end of the lake in the trees. The day before at practice, we had caught two non-keepers in the trees on plastics. We were fishing down the bank  where we lost the pole. One of the boys had gotten hung up. I looked down, and there it was! I lowered a lipless crankbait, and snagged the pole. Nick was happy to have has pole back, and he started fishing with it. He said “Dad the pole is so cold.” Kyle was like “It has been in the cold lake all night.” It was getting about noon, and we had only 1 hour left to fish.  We headed back towards the ramp area to fish. There were already a couple of boats loading up calling it a day and a few still fishing in the area. We decided to move up to the next little pocket, which was out of the cold wind. We started fishing down the bank when Nick got hooked up next to standing timber on finesse plastic. We finally caught one at 12:15pm!  We were very excited.  It was just a small keeper, but on this cold day, we were going to the stage. Kyle then was so excited he messed up his spinning reel. I told him to grab Nick’s other rod that we had retrieved from the lake earlier that was now in the rod locker in the boat. Kyle grabbed the rod and was trying to get it out of the rod locker when the door fell on the rod.  It broke in half! I guess we were not supposed to have the pole anymore. We had only 30 minute left, so fished down the bank.  We came to a small secondary point that had standing timber out in front of it. I pulled the boat out in deeper water, and the boys were throwing at the timber with no luck. I decided to pull up shallow and fish back down were we had caught the keeper.  There was another team coming down the same bank. Just then Nick got hooked up.  I was trying to get the net out, but he just swung the fish in the boat.  It was just another small keeper. We were really pumped up; if we could just get another. Then Kyle threw up by a little stick and his line started to move to the right. He set the hook and was hooked up for a second. Then his line went slack.  We had just lost the fish with 15 minutes to go. With the two poles down that were medium action, he was throwing the finesse bait on a medium heavy rod. The pressure from the hook set ripped the hook right out of the fish’s mouth. I am sure it was another small fish, but on this cold day, every fish could count. The day was over, and we headed back to the ramp to see how we would finish. We knew someone else probably caught them. There were 10 boats that headed out that cold and windy day, and only 4 boats caught any keepers. First place had two good three pounders for 6.5 lbs that they had caught before 9:30am. We would end up 3rd place with two small keepers gaining some good points in the standing. Great job to all the kids that toughed it out in the conditions this weekend. I was very proud of the boys fishing until the end.

Kansas early spring fishing can be awesome across the state on any of the small State Fishing Lakes in April. Usually in April the bass start moving shallow looking to feed and spawn. It is a great time to fish and catch some big bass. I always try to hit as many small lakes across the state as I can to catch some big fish. I usually try to start with moving baits like Spinnerbaits and Lipless Crankbaits, then move to slower baits like Senko and Jigs.  The last three years on a local lake we have caught some really big fish. In 2015, the twins and I had about 19lbs for our best 5. Then last year during a Kids Fishing Club only a couple of kids showed up so I decided to take them fishing off the boat. It was a really tough day they were only able to catch two big fish that would weigh about 10lbs. We also lost a really good fish we never saw. I ready plan on hitting the lake this year at the same time. So this spring go to some of the states smaller lakes around April and you can catch some of the state’s big bass.

 

Just wanted to share this story with you. It happened two years ago on a local lake, we had been having alot of luck along the dam. Twins were supposed to have a baseball game that night. But due to weather, the game was cancelled.  I looked at the boys, and said “Get your rods.  We’re going fishing.”

When we get to the lake, we always start at the boat ramp. You will be really surprised how many fish we catch right where we put the boat in. So, we started throwing weightless stickbaits up in the brush. The water had come up a couple of feet from the last time we were there.  We caught a couple, but just little fish. So, we decided to fish along the dam. We were still just catching a couple of small fish. Just when we had reached the end of the dam, there is a little pocket with tree flooding in the back. The entries to the little pocket had stickup about 7 feet out from the bank. I started flipping creature baits to them. Nick threw up by a stickup, and hooked a good 2.5 pound bass. We got him in the boat.   As I’m helping Nick unhook the bass, Kyle said, “Dad, I had one just then. It jumped and was a huge bass.” I was yelling at Nick to net the fish. He tried but the big bass was not having any of it. Finally, Nick got it in the boat. We all just looked at each other like “What just happened?” I just threw Nick’s 2.5 pound bass in the lake. Kyle’s fish weighted in at 6lbs. It is Kyle biggest bass on a public lake.

Last summer, the twins and I practiced a little offshore on a local lake. We were able to catch some really nice bass throwing a senko deep. It can be really hard to find offshore structure, but if you spend some time it can really be worth it.

I hope everyone had a great holiday. It is cold outside and a lot of people aren’t thinking of fishing. Before you know it, the fishing season will be here. So you better start getting your gear ready. First thing I do is make goals for the new fishing year. Usually the first goal is to do a better job of keeping a logbook. I will usually keep records of the catch on the computer or notebook, and I make an excel spread sheet. Last year, I didn’t keep very good records.  I am going to try to keep better records this year.

I would also like to break my PB (Personnel Best) Largemouth Bass 10.6lb from Texas. Anytime any one goes fishing you would like to catch your biggest bass or any type of fish you are after. My Kansas PB largemouth is only 6lbs so I really plan on breaking that this year with a 7lb bass or bigger from a Kansas Public Lake. Then I would like to also catch a 5lb smallmouth this year.

Also one thing I like to do is pick a couple of different type of lures to learn more about and fish more in the up coming season. It can be an old or new lure. There is always something about catching a fish on a brand new lure. You can look online for a lot of articles about a lure that can help you have confidence on it before you every try it. This year, my lures are Jigs, Rattletraps and Chatterbaits. Jigs are a great lure anytime of the year. My PB and best tournament was on a Jig. Last year a swim jig really worked well for me. Chatterbaits are very similar to a jig except the blade is on front, and it works really well in the Spring and Fall. I plan on fishing a heavier one out deeper in the summer. I have been watching videos and reading up on Rattletraps, so I really plan on giving them more time this year. They worked really well for me last fall.

Last, if you fish tournaments, you should always have a goal to win a tournament or two. I would like to win two tournaments this year in my club and to finish in the top three this year in the standings. I would also like to fish a tournament with Nick and one with Kyle.

So here are my goals for 2018:

Keep a fishing logbook

To catch a largemouth in Kansas over 7lbs

To catch a smallmouth over 5lbs

Lures this year are Jigs and Chatterbaits

To win two club tournaments 

To Finish in the Top three in the club

Fish a tournament with Kyle and one with Nick

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Before you start your season, make a list of some goals you would like to achieve. It is always fun when you can mark one off the list. Next time, I will share the twins’ fishing goals with you.