Tag: Kansas Bass Fishing

FISHING SOLO TRIP ON MELVERN

Just got back from Sam Rayburn. Needed to prefish Melvern for Mr. Bass. Twins were too wore out and it was a really cold day. So, I tackled Melvern by myself. Was able to find some really nice smallmouth. Was throwing a crankbait on Powertackle PG143 rod. They don’t make the model anymore, but closest action is LPC470. Check them out at https://powertackle.com.

2020 MARCH BASS FISHING

This is been a crazy month with everything going on in the world. Fishing his been awesome with warmer weather. The lakes are starting to hit middle 50’s here in Kansas. You better grab a rod and go fishing. Remember to practice insolation, just fish with house members and don’t stop at many places on the way to the lake.

A goal this year is to catch Hundred fish over 3 pounds. We already have 21 at the end of March. Some of the lakes we have fished are Sam Rayburn in Texas, and we have spent a lot of days on Melvern with the best being on cold, cloudy days. Also, we have fished a couple of smaller lakes, and our last trip of the month was on Perry lake.

The best lures in Texas were Jerkbaits, Senko and Jigs. Wish I would have spent more time throwing a Jig. Back in Kansas, best baits have been lipless Crankbaits, Swimbaits, Ned Rig and Jigs.

I would say April going to be very incredible. Two things to look for is warmer water and watch the Moon Phases as the best days will be two to three days before and after the Full Moon and New Moon. A couple of baits to try are Spinnerbaits, Square Bills and Soft Plastics. Maybe a big swimbait could catch you a big fish. With everything going on, grab your rods and go fishing, Good Luck!!!!

Just Having A Little Fun Fishing!

Due to the wind, we had to stay back in a little pocket and just have some fun catching bass. Could never catch any big fish. But, anytime you can spend time with your boys on the water is a good day. I hope you enjoy.

Kansas Bass Youth Team Series Part 2

Day 1 of the Kansas Bass Youth Team Series on Wilson Lake, we had already 2 fish in the livewell at our first stop. As we moved to the second stop, the wind and boat traffic made it very hard to fish. So I decided to drive all the way into the back of the pocket. We pulled up to a grass point and on the first cast, Nick caught our third keeper. It was just at 15 inches, so we need to creel him to have a chance. Fished a little more in the back as another boat joined us in the little pocket. Moving out along the bluff wall, there was a little cut that Kyle missed a fish. I figured it was a bedding fish. So we backed out, and Nick threw up there and dragged it into the spot. He stop moving it, and just then his line took off. I’m not sure he had a good hookset. If you watch the video, you will see. If you have the right rod and reel, all you have to do is lean into the fish. You don’t really want to set the hook too hard because you can pull or pop the hook out of its mouth. It was a good 3.12lb largemouth. I figured we had finally caught one we wouldn’t have to creel. With 4 fish in the livewell at 10am, it was a great start.

We moved just a little more down the back, watching another boat catch a good one in front of us. As they went around us, Kyle hooked up with number 5. The next hour, we caught fish after fish. We creeled 3 of the smaller fish in the next hour. All the fish in the livewell were between 3.04 to 3.12lbs. Just then Nick set the hook. I was like “Really? Again?” It jumped and shad guts flew everywhere. It was a big smallmouth. As Nick played it, Kyle was praying that we landed the fish. Nick got the fish in the net, and it was the biggest fish at a weight of 3.14lbs. We had around 17 pounds. After talking a little to another boat with a couple of guys that I know very well, they told us to stop fishing and save some fish for the next day. Boys didn’t want to stop fishing, but they did from 11:30 am to 1:45 pm. We protected the spot from other boats. Twins would cast out deeper and take breaks. Around 1pm, Kyle said “I’m casting to the spot.” I was like ok. Just as I said “Ok,” he set the hook. Not good, because it was another 3 pound smallmouth. The first half of the field weighed in, and only had 2fish or no fish. But one team had 14.90 lbs. As the scale stopped at 17.54 lbs, we had an almost 2 1/2 pound lead. All we have to do is bring in a limit on day 2 and the championship would be ours.

Kansas BASS Youth Team Series Championship on Wilson Lake

The Kansas BASS Youth Team Series held their State Championship on Wilson Lake in Western Kansas. Wilson Lake bass fishing of both Smallmouth and Largemouth are on fire right know. It is some of the best fishing in Kansas. So, I knew it was going to take around 15lbs a day. It was a two day event. There are a lot of 3 pound bass in the lake. We went the day before so that we could go out and prefish.

On our first spot, I noticed a lot of big largemouth swimming around shallow. I had one follow my frog to the boat. I told one of the boys to throw a stickbait on him. Kyle threw a Senko right next to him, and it exploded on it. I told him not to set the hook. It swam a little bit with his bait before Kyle pulled on him and he then let it go. After seeing a couple of more fish and catching a couple of small bass, we decided to move to a prime spot we had fished a couple of weeks before. Nick right away caught a 4 pound largemouth. I started to see more fish on beds both largemouth and smallmouth. I decided to leave them alone so we could start there first thing in the morning. We fished a couple of more hours, catching just small fish. I was a little nervous about our starting spot due to the Sunflower Team Series was fishing a tournament the first day. Those guys don’t miss much, so I figured they had spotted the fish bedding to. They also had 65 boats fishing.

The first day of the tournament, the boys and I were ready to go. While we were running to the spot, I was just hoping no one was on the spot. As we came around the corner, there was no one on the spot. I was so excited. I knew the twins could catch some fish here. After about 5 casts, we moved right into the spot were I saw a good smallmouth the day before on a bed. The best thing was we knew were it was bedding, so we could stay back away from it and cast around the spot. Nick’s second cast in the area, he hooked up. I knew right away it was a good fish. After fighting it for couple of seconds, which felt like 5 minutes, we landed the first keeper. It was around 3.5 pounds. A great start. Then a couple more casts in another area I had seen a couple of fish shallow, Kyle was able to catch another keeper smallmouth. It was just 15 inches, and didn’t weigh much. We have to creel this fish. But, we had two keepers in the first 30 minutes. After another hour, I decided to go to where we saw the bigger largemouth the day before. As we left the cove, I saw the wind direction. It would be very hard to fish the spot. I decided to move us to another spot that had been good to us the last couple of years. It would be a great decision, and one of the best days on the water that the boys and I will never forget. Next blog and video the boys catch their biggest limit in a tournament.

Talking Square Bills with the Boys

We really enjoy throwing square bills for any species. I hope you like the video of the boys and I talking Square Bills. We are sharing a couple of the plugs we like to fish. My favorite is Luck-E-Strike Rick Clunn Square Bill Series. I like to throw it in Dark Brown Craw, Spotted Shad, Blue Chart and TW Black Chartreuse. Nick’s favorite is Berkley Squarebull 5.5 in Big Money and Brown Mustard. Kyle’s favorite is the 6th Sense Crush Squarebill in Shad Green.

Angler of the Year

I would like to talk about one of my best tournament seasons. I was really determined to have a great year. Last year I spent a lot of time in the off season reading articles and watching fishing videos. There is so much info out there, you just need to spend time to look it up. I’m not talking about lakes’ fishing reports. They do help, but if you like throwing crankbaits look up all the info you can about the technique and watch videos. I have a notebook that I write down anything that I like or think will help me catch more fish. I have been doing that for the last two years. Then I put it next to my bed, and read it off and on during the season.

Also I decided to get in shape this season by working out. I need to be in better condition during the cold and hot weather we have in Kansas. We fish for 8 hours in a tournament; you need to focus and be ready when ever that big bass may hit. I noticed if you are eating and working out, you don’t get as tired or worn out. I cannot say how many event this year that I caught a bass in the last hour, and that made a big difference.

This season I won Angler of the Year in Flint Hills Bass Club. All the offseason work paid off. We scheduled 7 events this season which you could throw out your lower placings or if you missed an event. I looked at this season as one big tournament, 7 days. I needed to catch 5 fish that weigh over 10 pounds each day. So, I needed a total of 35 fish. It doesn’t seem that hard. But, if you have ever fished a tournament, weather and other things always become a factor. This year, I was able to catch 25 fish with an average weight of 13.61lbs for 5 events. I had to miss one event for the boys to represent Kansas in Tennessee at Carroll County lake for B.A.S.S. National Youth Team Series. The other was cancelled due to weather in which we couldn’t make it up due to other events. I never placed lower then 3rd place in the 5 events. 

This year, I also caught Big Bass of the Year.  It was a 21 3/8 inch largemouth. The day it was caught, it was my first fish of the day at 10 am. In the next 15 minutes I had a limit. I was able to get big bass in 3 events and also catch four fish over 20 inches in the first three events of the season.

 It was an incredible year. I would like to thank everyone that helped me this year. All the non-boaters that helped kept me fishing hard and make on water decisions. To my boys that push and help me pre-fish tournaments. Without my boys loving fishing, I could never spend as much time on the water as I do. Then to my loving, caring wife that believes in me and has always been so supportive.