Redemption

Not all that long ago I was force-fed humble pie.

It was brutal.
I lost sleep.
I grumbled.
I sulked around the house.
I kept thinking about redemption… redemption…
Am I a hack?!
Can I redeem myself?!?!

Well… nothing else to do but try…

For this trip I left early, about 6:30 in the morning with bright conditions, a comfortable 68 degree temperature & little wind. Lots of bass were up shallow, but they were mostly interested in doing their spring-thing. They was all twitterpated.

I rigged up my trusty swim jig with a new, more compact trailer, and also tied on a PowerBait General (5″ stickbait) incorporating a weightless TX rig. This bait seemed to sink faster then the Ocho I had been using earlier in the year, but it was also something that the fish I missed 4 times – yes you read that correctly – on the last trip had reacted to. This also used a larger EWG hook as opposed to the VMC Wacky hook I had been using…

When life gives you lemons… tie on a bigger hook.

There was a lot of congestion this morning as well, so I decided to walk far away from the pack. This paid off almost immediately, and I watched them from far away to see if they pulled anything out of the lake.

They didn’t.

They didn’t even move.

It seems like these guys are willing to work a spot for hours – to live or die there. I do not recommend this approach, and after the guys moved out of the area I had planned to fish – I swooped in, slowed down and made contact.

Quick note: the first fish I caught completely ignored my swim jig, he also ignored my stickbait when I brought it THROUGH the muck, but when I tossed it past him and brought it back on top of the algae, then allowed it to sink down next to were he was at vertically – he picked it up. The second fish I caught hit on the right side of a little algae cover – but not on the left side.

Try different retrieves!

Let me know if you have any suggestions for improving, or a pond or creek to fish, or just want to say hey in the comments or on social media. I’m always trying to improve and appreciate your input. Thanks much!