Took the first bass trip of 2016 with my buddy Matt as we headed off to Flowing Lake. With the recent few days of warming weather we thought we might find a few fish coming into shallow/deep transition areas ripe for the catching. We got to the lake about 9am and all the conditions were lining up for a good day. All but one, water temp. The hopes for a warming trend unfortunately still had the lake at about 46-48 degrees. Not enough to get the bass out of their winter mode. But we still figured to give it a go as the lake looked too good to pass up. For me this the first time getting the SS Redhook on the Water for 2016 with its new wrap and first bass trip. Just to be on the water was great no matter the outcome.
We targeted all structure we could find both shallow and mid range with a variety of baits. From Jigs to cranks, and spinner baits to plastics. This lake is loaded with downed trees and docks with close access to deeper water. Perfect bass habitat. Unfortunately it seems the bass were holding out on the deep weed lines/structure and not in a real biting mood. This gave Matt and I a great chance to brush up on our techniques however. I for one really wanted to test out some of the new swimbaits I doctored up as stocker trout and see how they respond in the water.
I could not have been more happy as the swimbait above looked identical to the stocker trout that were just released into the lake. The movement and coloration will surely prove deadly on big bass this year as the water warms. Check out the short clip on how the bait looked in the water. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6n7lnC7b3I
As I mentioned, we fished the lake hard. A lot of good structure, but looks like the bass are holding out deeper until the water warms. There were however a good amount of boats on the water fishing for trout after the recent plant release. So we decided to toss out a few trolling lines on the way back to the launch to see what happens. Wouldn't you know about 2 minutes into trolling, the trout killer Wicked lure hits a fish. A small stocker 7" rainbow trout but a fun little guy none the less. Released him on for someone else to enjoy as he grows up.
All in all, it was a great day to be out on the water. Nothing is better than a relaxing day of fishing with great friends. Thanks again for tagging along Matt. Looking forward to chasing some big bass as the water warms.