Wacky Days

Contributed by Jay Randall

It was a windy day on Evergreen Lake near Bloomington, Illinois. The sun was shinning bright and the reflection off the water was helping me to keep warm. The air was crisp and the wind was advising its control at my every shift on the kayak. As I stood among the fallen trees on the water’s edge I was throwing my favorite finesse search bait, the wacky rigged Crabby Bass Whacker in purple with red glitter and grape scent with chartreuse tips.


I searched what seemed to be everlasting shorelines causing me to fatigue at times. I worked the rock walls and drop offs with everyone’s go to…the squarebill. Yet again I could not collect. Not even a bite. I threw some other lures which seemed to be in desperation only to repeat the same outcome as before: nada. I moved to some great looking coves that would produce that were out of the wind and partially shaded. The shores were riddled with bushes, limbs and fallen trees along with some stumps that screamed “Fish me! Fish me!” I stood up and went to work. I was pitching like it was no one’s business. I threw that worm everywhere I could get it into. The wacky rig is great for these situations because you can skip it under the low branches and vegetation hanging over the waters edge. I continued working the edges with my confidence baits.


By now I was getting tired and and saw my girlfriend across the lake by the boat launch across the lake. She had already starting paddling to me and I started towards her as well. When we met in the middle she asked if I was hungry or thirsty. I was and I had finished both my bottles of water already. She asked if how I was doing and what I thought about leaving since we had been on the water for about four hours already and we had some paddling ahead of us to get back. Feeling internally beaten down from the no bite day and wanting to quit I looked across the lake where I saw a cove that had fallen timber and a different hue to the water signaling that it was more shallow. I had worked the edges and shorelines all day, some open flats in this deeper side of the lake because it was cold still and I was merely sight fishing by looking at maps and going off instinct which was not working at all. I instantly said, “Let’s hit that spot right over there and then we’ll go”.


Once we arrived my girlfriend threw her bobber and night crawler right off the point to the right of the dock. She hooked into a 14 inch bass right away. I was very pleased that she caught a fish and my hunch seemed to be on point. I started to mentally dissect the area. I focused in on the sunken timber and brush that had not yet started to bud with the signs of Spring. I worked the edges just as before and came to a glorious looking spot that was just short of a big sign telling me this was the place. I stood up once again and started to pitch to the ends of the timber that was sunken below. I dropped my worm and let it flutter to the bottom. I waited a few seconds and then raised the tip of my rod slowly feeling for some resistance of any kind. I could feel something on the other end! I quickly set the hook and brought a 15 inch bass up. I was so happy. Only a fisherman could know what this feeling is like. All that negative self disappointment lifted instantly and my confidence went through the roof. I moved to another log and another.


There were camping sights along a lot of the shoreline of the lake and there was a mother and daughter camping right where I was fishing. I had a small exchange, the usual hellos and such. I had fished the area pretty well and waited to fish this rooted out tree that was unbelievable. I threw the worm to the right side of the tree and let it drift down out of sight. I waited longer than usual this time, not really doing it on purpose but rather because it felt like I should. I lifted my rod tip slowly and felt some resistance and then started to speed up my retrieve to get the best hook set. I soon saw this beast break the water. I got wrapped up when trying to set the hook. I also had not realized that I had drifted a bit more toward the tree and my 7 foot spinning rod was in the trees a bit. I noticed that the fish was swimming up with the worm and I had to act fast. I sped up my retrieve again only to have my rod smash against the branches. I saw the bass come out of the water! It was definitely a 20+ inch hog! And just as quickly my line went slack and my worm launched out of the beast’s mouth as it slipped back into the shadows of the timber. I grabbed the front of my face and slunk down with my head low thinking about the loss I had just witnessed. Then I heard, “Oh I bet that one hurt.” I laughed and agreed. We exchanged a few more sentences and I sat there for a few moments just taking in the experience. I was very pleased at this point on how my day had gone despite losing that big fish. After all it was a beautiful day and I was doing the thing I love the most…fishing.