YEAR IN REVIEW
The Spring fishing was rather slow for me, and I could not put together a good suspended jerkbait bite on
the main lake. I had to resort to fishing spinnerbaits, soft plastics, and jigs in the warmer creeks. As the water
began to warm into the mid to upper 60's, the fishing got better for me as I targeted mostly post spawn fish.
My best technique was fishing a floating jerkbait around isolated stumps and laydowns and letting it float to the surface
next to the wood. In late May early June the milfoil beds started surfacing on the lake and the fishing gradually
got better. The first pattern I had found was fishing main lake points that were mostly shallow and flat. The
bass were using this area as a transitional period from postspawn to there summer patterns. The best way to catch them
was on a Carolina Rig followed by a variety of baits. The Zoom Brush Hog seemed to work week in and week out, but as
that bite died off from excess pressure, the fish continued to bite on Yum Wooly Hawgs, and 6" Lizards. The water warmed
into the mid to upper 70's and the fish pulled tighter to the grass lines and moved out deeper on the wood. I could
never put a good pattern together on the timber, so I stuck to the main lake grass throughout the year. As the weather
steadied and the water temps stayed in the 80's your best bet was to fish the grass slow and look for shad in the grass.
My lures of choice were shallow running crankbaits and soft plastic stick baits such as Senko's and Yum Dinger's. Throughout
the months of July and August we received little rain and the lake began to drop. All the grass lines were fairly shallow
and the fish were holding just as shallow despite the warm water temperatures. The topwater bite had disappeared, and
the best bet was still fishing the soft plastics around the grass lines. The key was getting on the right grass bed
at the right time basically, which usually meant having some wind and some bait present.
School started in Mid-August which limited my time on the water. I
went into both the MSTA championship and the Burtons championship with only a day or two of prefishing. So a sixth place
finish in the MSTA was not bad, my Pro partner and I were just .08 of an ounce out of cashing a check.
Despite the disappointing finishes in the chamionships, this fall has been
a huge step in my bass fishing career. I upgraded boats, my 1999 Bass Tracker Pro Team 175 was very reliable, but a
tad bit too small. The new ride is a 1999 Skeeter SX186 with a 150HP Mercury XR6. Wow what a difference, twice
the stability, twice the storage, and twice the speed (61mph on GPS).
WHATS NEW FOR NEXT SEASON
Next season will consist of fishing the MSTA as a boater for the first
year, fishing the Burtons weekend and thursday night circuits. As well as fishing with the Bass Boyz club out of Kansas
City, MIssouri. Other than the new boat, it will be the same goals: Catch fish, Catch fish, Catch fish!!!
