It was a slow day. When Nick hookup with a 6 lb 2 oz. Smallmouth. Getting closer to that Kansas record. Caught it using Powertackle PG143-70. Powertackle Rods are the best rod on the market. Without them we wouldn’t be landing these big fish.
Tag: Smallmouth
Sunflower Team Series on Wilson
The Sunflower Team Series hosted an event on beautiful Wilson Lake on May 12th. It was going to be a great day for a tournament as the weather prediction was sunny and only 10 to 15 mph winds. There were 41 boats ready to tackle Wilson lake’s largemouth and smallmouth.
I was fishing with my son Nick. We were looking forward to fishing Wilson. I have never fished Wilson in May. But, I have fished Wilson before so I had an idea where to start and would just need to go a little more shallow. Being the sixth boat out, I fiqured we could be the first one to the spot. We started on secondary and main lake points in the area. We fished for an hour before moving to another spot that had some shallow grass and wood. I would hook up with a non-keeper largemouth on a frog. After another hour of fishing, I decided to move to our third area.
We arrived at the area finding about four other boats in the area. I drove all the way to the back of the cove. I was throwing a Senko special rigged and Nick was fishing a couple of different types of plastics. We came up to a ledge on a bluff with some grass. I tossed the Senko onto the grass and it took off to the side. I set the hook on a three pound smallmouth. After landing the fish, Nick and I were very excited. We fished down the bluff to another ledge with grass. I hooked up again with another three pound smallmouth on the Senko. After landing that fish, I told Nick to cast up there quickly while I got another Senko rigged up. Nick right away said “Dad I have one and it is a big fish”. He fought the fish to the boat and I landed it with the net. It was another 2.5lb smallmouth. When it jumped, it looked huge! They always look bigger when they jump. After fishing the spot for another hour without another bite and watching a couple of other boats landed fish around us, I decided to move on. It was a hard decision because there were fish in the spot. We fished around the cove for another hour in a couple of different areas, and never got another bite. So, we decided to move to a shallower cove, and Nick would catch 4 non-keepers on a tube. We tried a couple of main lake little pockets without much luck for the next few hours. With only 1 hour left, we moved back to were we caught the three keepers. I threw a Senko up to a white shallow spot between the cattails in 6 inch of water. The smallmouth hit it right away when it landed. I was able to get the fish out of the cattails and Nick landed it with the net. It was our fourth keeper. We were so pumped, but we still needed another keeper. Nick even gave me a one handed hug. We fished for 40 minutes without a bite. It was a long drive back to the boat ramp with only 4 fish. There were a lot of five fish limits and four fish bags at the weigh-in. Most of the fish were averaging three pounds. There was also one big smallmouth at 5-11lb. I won’t be very surprised if in the next year the Kansas State record smallmouth is caught in Wilson. Nick and I had 11.70lb for 18th place. Not bad out of 41 boats, and one more fish would have got us in the top 10. It was awesome to fish with my son. Nick is a grinder; he will fish all eight hours and never quit. Even when he has not caught a fish, he won’t quit. Thanks Rick and Kip for giving me the chances to fish tournaments with my sons. We will see you at the Melvern tournament on June 9.
Melvern April 19
March Bass fishing on Melvern
I had an upcoming tournament on Melvern, so the twins and I decided to go prefish. It was a cloudy day with a little bit of wind. It didn’t take very long to hook up on my first three casts. We caught 12, lost 4, and we had the best luck on finesse baits and Jerkbaits. There was only one area we could get a bite. It is funny to watch the video and notice how long I would let the jerkbait set. It was cool to have Kyle catch a jerkbait fish. We are hoping the fish will be there next week when Kyle and I fish the first Sunflower Team Series Tournament.
Kansas Smallmouth
Coffey County Bass Fishing
Here a story that happened last year on a beautiful November day. We decided to get the boat out, and go down to Coffey County Lake to fish for some smallmouth with my dad. I was worried about the fishing with the power plant not running. But, when we showed up at the ramp, we saw all the boats. I knew we were going to catch them. It started out slow, but like always, it took a little time to figure them out. It had been a month since we were there. We started fishing riprap in the hot water area with finesse baits. We were able to catch 5 fish. On one of the fish, Nick broke a rod swinging the fish into the boat. The twins wanted to move to an area with grass mats on the surface that held fish the last time we were there. I pulled up to the spot. The grass was gone, and the boys were upset. I told them the bass are still in the area and had just moved to the rocks. Nick’s very
first cast with a weightless stickbait, and he hooked up with a really nice fish. The fish started to make a run to deep water, then the hook popped out. So, we went back to fishing the riprap. This time it was Kyle’s turn to hook up with a good smallmouth, which we lost at the boat. I noticed there was some tall grass on the graph which was holding the fish. Next time through, my dad hooks up with a smallmouth, and we were able to get it landed. Throughout the day, we revisited the spot catching good smallmouth and largemouth. On one trip, Kyle caught three bass on three straight casts. We were able to fish a couple of other spots catching fish but the better size came off the tall grass along the riprap. We ended up catching 30 fish. It was a great day with the twins and my dad.
While I was loading the boat, the twins wanted to fish the bank. I told them it was okay, but to make sure to stay out of the way of the people that were already there fishing. It was not very long, and I heard Nick yelling “Dad I caught one.” Then a couple more minutes, Kyle caught one. While I was cleaning the boat, I heard someone say something. So, I said “What? You have another?” Then I heard someone from the bank say ” Yeah, they have another.” Nick then caught one more bass. We finished with 34 fish, and most were 16 inches. Making memories with the boys and Dad is priceless.