Hot Rod Baits Bass Series

Hot Rod Baits has been holding bass tournaments for a few years now.  This year there are 3 stops on the circuit, Lake MacBride, Rock Creek Lake and Pool 10 of the Mississippi River.  The first event was a disaster, with only 2 bass being weighed in out of 34 anglers, that was April, now on to the second event.

Event #2-
Rock Creek lake, near Grinnell.
CONDITIONS- water temperture dropped about 5 degrees in 1.5 days. Wind was 20-45mph, right down the middle of the lake. Water clarity was really good for this lake (about 10-inches)

My partner and I had a decent game plan, but knowing Rock Creek for the last 15 years, we both knew that things don't always add up at this lake. There is a decent population of bass in the lake, and the average size is better than most lakes in Iowa...IMO. Did I mention that the air temp dropped about 40 degrees in that 1.5 days too?

So we thought we better fish off the bank a while to see if the fish up shallow were off a bit. We didn't find much with that hypothesis, so up shallow we went about 10am. Almost immediately we start hooking a few fish. Then BOOM, my partner loads up on a big'un with a black/red Big Craw. We were in 2 foot of water and he had him coming to the boat at the surface. I had the net ready...you know where this is going...and about 5 foot from the net, his line breaks. It was 4+ pounds no doubt.  Those things happen to the best in the world, you just keep fishing.

We stayed shallow a while, we went deep again, we fished out of the wind and we fished in the most windy areas of the lake too. The MinnKota 101 Fortrex sure lets you do this easily, as long as you can balance the waves.

We never hooked a fish all day that we put on the board, a dozen of 12-13 inchers is all we could manage, and that big'un, and one more that was coming on a crankbait...but got off. It wasn't our day.

Winners said all their bass came on spinnerbaits, and my buddies got second and big bass with spinnerbaits too (caught about 30 bass all day). We never had a bite on spinnerbaits all day (it was a spinnerbait day, which we kept saying over and over).

Come to find out, my buddies were using a natural color spinnerbaits (bluegill in color). Hmmmm, I guess I should have changed my white spinnerbait, sometimes it can be the smallest of adjustments. We had our minds on the BIG picture of the lake, and didn't really think about a subtle change that we could have made. Live and learn, and that is why I think I love and HATE tournaments at times. You can learn a lot, but you can sure get served humble pie too!

I wish I had a picture to share...maybe my next tournament will be better.

April 27th- Kid fishing

The spring weather finally got nice enough to take the kids out fishing.  This was their first time out since ice fishing.  They were really excited to say the least. 
We hit up a local farm pond, which is so ideal for kids.  The grass is mowed, the banks are slowly slopped and the pond is full of bluegills and crappies. 
A couple spincast rods, a few dozen red worms and we were off to the pond.  Crappies were the catch of the day, accounting for 3/4 of all the fish caught.  Some gills made it to shore and one little bass which got the kids excited. 
It was a great few hours, but the little ones really got tired, and we had to cut the trip short.  All in all though, it was fun and they got to enjoy the outdoors! 

First time in the boat- April 4th

It was a long winter, and I had many awesome trips on the ice to chase crappies and bluegills.  As the saying goes...all good things must come to an end, so as the seasons turn here in Central Iowa, the boat had to get out of storage.  I hooked up the boat after work last Thursday night with friend Ken.  We headed out to a private lake not too far from Marshalltown to test the boat and see if we could get a few bass in the boat.  It was only 8 days after my last ice fishing trip in the same area...almost unbelievable!

The boat worked great, all things were functioning right on cue, and the bass were somewhat cooperative too.  We caught about 2 dozen bass in a few hours and got to test out some new equipment for the year too.  Quantum Rods and Reels came out with several updated models and some brand new stuff for the 2013 fishing season.  I will have reviews of those products as I fish them a little bit more, but if first impressions last, I will not forget soon how these new rods and reels performed.

We caught all our bass on shakey head worms, jigs or Hot Rod Baits Big Craws.  I did manage 2 bass on a spinnerbait too, and they really nailed it!  Water tamps varied from 47-51 degrees, as the previous sunny days really warmed the shallow waters.  It was a fun outing, everything worked well, some new equipment was tested, and we boated some bass.

This marked the first time ever, since owning a boat in 1999, that it has not touched water in March, a weird spring, which will hopefully lead to many great days on the water this year.

This time was the last time...PROMISE

The end of the ice fishing season came this past Wednesday (March 27th) for me and a couple of my ice angling friends.  Don Henry, and David Bowles joined me for one last adventure to find solid ice.  A protected pond/lake with trees or located in a valley will hold ice much longer than an area that is out in the middle of nowhere.  I knew of just a pond like this, and communicated with Kent, the land owner.  He didn’t mind at all if we looked around.  As the three of us walked down to the pond we noticed that things looked good, no open water and it appeared solid around the edges.  We came to one side of the pond, and things were not good at all, one step on the ice, and one wet boot as it broke right through.  Time to try the other side…BINGO, walked right out and started testing the ice.  I started to quickly drill holes and measure for thickness and quality.  We were in business for some late afternoon fishing and our smiles were as big as a ten-year olds on Christmas morning!

                We quickly found roaming crappies and bluegills in the deepest water the pond had.  We were sitting in 15-22 feet of water for most of the time.  The fish would come in suspended and we would pick them off as they approved of our baits.  The fish were hungry, they knew spring was coming up, the water temperatures are getting warmer, and the pond water was once again teaming with microscopic life.  Fishing was great, and with every fish we caught we knew to cherish it, as it could be the last one of the year.  Night was approaching, and as the sun started to hide behind the horizon, we knew that time was just about up for the ice fishing season.  We all had a great afternoon/evening of fishing and it will be one to think about until next December.  

The sun has set on another ice fishing season.  December 24th - March 27th, and awesome season on the ice.

I lied...

My last blog was supposed to be last ice fishing day, and it was.  Well, until this past Saturday.  I had all my rods put away, everything was packed in the back of the utility room and put away.  It really was, but Mother Nature made me get it back out.  It wasn't my fault.

The recent colder temperatures at night kept the ice in check this past week.  I knew the ice would be suitable for fishing, and I just had to do it. 

Hi, I'm Todd, and I am a fishaholic.

I made a few text messages to get at least one person to go with me, safety first.  It didn't take long to get Don Henry's text message back, he had his things all put away too, but out they came.  We made a quick trip to hopefully find some good ice on a local farm pond.  I was very pleased to see the edges locked up solid as we walked down to the pond.  I knew our chances of fishing that day was going up!

We made it out on the ice, it was solid, about 4-6 inches in depth.  I started popping holes, and Don followed up with the Vexilar checking to see if any fish were out and about roaming.  He found some in about 8-9 feet of water and started fishing.  I kept drilling holes making my way to the deepest part of the pond and then all the way across to the north side.  I was in "exploring" mode to find out about this pond, as I have only been there once before. 

We continued to catch crappie and a few bluegills for the next two hours.  They would come through suspended, or be about two feet under the ice, those were very aggressive.  After catching about 40 panfish, I had the itch to catch some bass.  The last time I was here I caught about an 18-inch bass, or three-plus pounds.  I was eager for another battle with one of those specimens.  I tried a Salmo minnow bait, but no takers, so I switched to a jigging spoon, GAME ON!  I did not hook up to another big one like a few weeks earlier, but did get one that went about 2.5#.  In total I caught about 10 bass that day, a very fun way to end the year.

Don had a great day on the ice too, gills, crappies, bass and a lot of laughs.  Always fun to go ice fishing...one last time.

One last time on the ice

March 10th was my last day on the ice for the year.  David Bowles and I made the trip to Hickory Grove Lake, because I knew that was our best chance to find good ice.  The lake had plenty of ice, but the problem was the melting ice, and recent rains had about 20 feet of water surrounding the good ice.  The only place we could get onto the ice was by using a fishing dock that was left in the water through the winter months. 

A few keeper bluegills for a meal

We carefully checked the ice, and to no surprise the further we got away from shore, the better the ice was.  We tried three different brushpiles and found some bluegills on all of them, but the bite was pretty slow.    The water was very dirty, again due to the recent rains...not to mention if was raining on us almost the entire time.  The Vexilars preformed flawlessly on this rainy day, which has come to be normal with this product.  There is simply no better piece of electronics out there. It wasn't a great way to end the year, but always fun to get out with a friend, battle nature, and catch some fish.

The last few holes of the 2012-2013 ice fishing year

The next fish I catch will probably be from shore as I check a few ponds as they will thaw out first.  I love ice fishing...but am ready to get out the long poles and catch them on the "soft-water" once again.  So good-bye ice fishing...and bring on the warmer weather.

Still on the ice in March

Ranger and his first fish through the ice

This late in the year (last year I had already caught a fish from shore by now) you have to go where the ice is safe.  Saturday found me joining friend Chad Pietig at Hickory Grove Lake.  He wasn't having any luck when I showed up, and after catching a few green sunfish he decided to try his in-laws farm pond.  I was game and we moved out there.  It's a great little pond, and we caught dozens of gills and a few bass.  A nice day on the ice for sure.

Sunday came around and it was time to get the whole family out on the ice.  The ice had a bit of snow on it, so moving around for the kids wouldn't be too hard for them.  Almost all year long the ice has been like glass, and just wasn't safe for kids to be out there.  I figured this weekend might be the last chance this year to get them out there. 

"Fishing" fun

We had a blast at a friends' farm pond, one we frequent in the summertime often too, but I had never fished it in the winter so I didn't know exactly what to expect.  It didn't take long, and the Vexilar was lit up with red marks, or "fish" as Ranger soon found out.  He was using the Vexilar in no time and knew exactly when the suspended fish came into view.  It was a great time, he caught his first fish through the ice, a nice crappie.  My wife caught her first fish through the ice as well.  I wish she was as hooked on ice fishing as Ranger is!  Most of the time Ranger and little sister played with ice scoop and had a blast watching the fish swim back down the hole. 

An 18+ inch bass to end the day

It was an awesome day, and not because the fish were biting, but the whole family was having a great time in the outdoors!