The longer I’m off the water the grumpier I get. This spring I’ve not been able to spend a lot of time chasing spawning largemouth bass due to work and other obligations. So I finally decided it was time to take a day off work and chase the big girls. They were calling for 15 mph-20 mph winds so I knew the conditions would be tough but I didn’t care.
I would of loved to have used finesse presentations to lure bedding fish but the wind was not going to let me do this very well so I decided to go with a more aggressive approach. I rigged up a swim jig, square bill crankbait, soft body swimbait and jig.
When I launched I decided to explore some areas I wasn’t extremely familiar with and hit the areas I knew would be holding fish later in the afternoon. This would give the water a chance to warm up a few degrees if I was lucky. I picked up a few male bass on a swimbait in some shallow areas where lily pads had begun to grow but no females and no beds that I could see.
It was time to start moving towards the area I knew would produce. One of the major benefits of fishing out of a kayak is the fact that you can access areas most boats can’t. This area is full of timber and has a lot of very shallow areas that boats can’t access easily. Even in a kayak paddling through timber in 20 mph winds can get a bit sketchy. The stability of my Wilderness Systems Ride 115 came in handy.
Match the hatch
I picked up a decent fish on a crankbait right off the channel as I made my way through the timber. Once I started throwing a swim jig things started to pick up. In fact, it was so successful I used it the remainder of the day. I really like using a swim jig this time of year because you can fish it fast or you can fish it slow like a traditional jig. It will also make a female furious if you happen to come across her bed!
Mission accomplished!
All but one fish came from 3 – 4 feet of water and only one was on an actual bed. I found the biggest fish of the day because I heard her making noise in the shallows and looked over and saw her dorsal fin coming out of the water. This is one of the reasons I don’t listen to music while on the water. The more in tuned you are with your environment the better your chances of catching a good fish. It’s also hard to beat Mother Nature’s music.
I’m glad I took a day off. It felt good to recharge and catch some solid fish. I plan on doing it again in the near future for sure!