First outting of the year

[keithdog]

This past friday I finally got out to do a little bass fishing. The ice has been off the water for 3 weeks now. The water was very cold up here in northern Indiana. While the temps friday were pleasant, the wind was fierce. I spent as much time with boat control as I did casting, or so it seemed. Fishing out of a 12 foot jon boat with an electric motor in 35 mph winds is no picnick. The bass were all caught in the northern portions of the lake where the strong south wind was really creating a hard chop. All the fish were taken on a black/blue Stanley Pro jig tipped with a black Peca chunk. The slow crawl with small short hops on occation was the ticket to success. I couldn't buy a hit on a suspending Lucky Craft SP100 jerk bait, Strike King Red Eye Shad, or a chatterbait, nor a Rapala DT10. But they sure liked that jig. The bass all averaged around 2 pounds. I think it's a good week or so before more bass start moving into the shallows. I've include a photo of a small mouth bass I caught. Not because of it's size, as it's a nice one but nothing to brag about. But because the lake I fished, Loomis Lake in Valparaiso, is not supposed to have small mouth. In the 45 years I have fished this lake, I have never seen nor heard of anyone EVER catching a small mouth in Loomis lake. The DNR does not list the small mouth as a species that lives in the lake. So you can imagine my suprise when I cranked it up to boatside. Just where this guy came from is beyond me. I quickly released him in hopes there must be more around to make baby smallies!!! If so, it will be a pleasant addition to the lake. He hit that jig like a freight train. Much harder than the large mouths did. Buy the way, the outfit I was using was my new pitchin outfit. A 6'10' heavy, extra fast Shimano Crucial casting rod paired with a Garcia Revo STX. The line was 17 pound Trilene 100% flourocarbin. I gotta tell ya, thats a sweet outfit!