It's a great day to be a bass pro. I've taken a short break this evening (Tuesday) to write this blog, but I have to tell you it wasn't easy. The fish are biting like crazy. Catching a limit is basically a matter of throwing whatever you have tied on your rod. Topwater plugs, jigs, spinnerbaits and crankbaits are all producing. I even caught one on a Carolina rig.
Most of the bass are in their postspawn mode. The smallmouth are a little farther along than the largemouth, but, of course, that's to be expected. If we don't get a radical change in the weather, I'd wager that almost every angler out here will weigh in a limit the first day. The fishing's that hot.
The problem with that is that it'll take finding the bigger bass to make a check or do really well in this thing. I'd say that's what'll separate the winners from the also-rans. (That's not as obvious as it sounds. Sometimes just finding four limits will put you up toward the top.)
I'll give you an example of what I'm talking about from today. I had trolling motor problems. While I was waiting for the parts to arrive, I fished near the service ramp. Normally I would never do that. It's mostly a terrible strategy, but when you're waiting for parts, you don't have many options. You have to be available when the guys have the time to make the necessary repairs. During a very short period of time I developed a solid morning smallmouth pattern. I already had an afternoon pattern, so it put me in pretty good shape.
Maybe I can start digging myself out of the hole I am in after the first three events. The only real problem so far has been the wind. It's been blowing like crazy. That means we've all been confined to the shallower areas of the lake near the bank or in the backwaters. None of us have been able to get out on the main lake, over the channel and fish the drops and the ledges. The water's just too darn rough. That could make a big difference come Thursday.
One or 2 pounds per day over the average will probably make the difference here. Assuming that the bigger bass spawned first — as they often do — they might be way out in the main lake by now. It's possible that'll be a big help to the guys who like to fish deep. But, hey, I'm not going to complain. I really feel good. I've been catching bass all day long for the past two days. On top of that, I have a morning pattern and an afternoon pattern going into an Elite Series tournament. How can life get much better than that?