Midwest Finesse Fishing: June 2024

This is one of the 50 largemouth bass that Pok Chi Lau and Ned Kehde caught on June 28.

June 1

Pat and Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about their June 1 outing at a 92-year-old and heavily fished state reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

Here is an edited version of their log.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 57 degrees. The afternoon’s high temperature was 82 degrees. The conditions of the sky varied from being foggy and misty to overcast to mostly cloudy to partly cloudy to fair. The wind fluctuated from being calm to angling out of the northwest, north, west, southwest, and south at 3 to 8 mph. The barometric pressure was 29.95 at 12:52 a.m., 29.95 at 5:52 a.m., 29.99 at 11:52 a.m., and 29.95 at 4:52 p.m.

The water level looked to be about a foot above normal. The surface temperature ranged from 77 to 78 degrees. Our nine-foot push pole, which we call our Secchi stick, indicated that the water clarity varied from about four feet to almost nine feet of visibility. Most of this reservoir’s vast patches of curly-leaf pondweeds had already endured their June wilt and decay, and many of the areas that curly-leaf pondweeds enhanced are now adorned with bourgeoning patches of coontail.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 6:45 a.m. to 8:45 a.m., 7:09 p.m. to 9:09 p.m., and 12:33 a.m. to 2:33 a.m.

This was another one of our conjugal and geriatric outings. Thus, it was a short one. It was also a rare Saturday jaunt. Our primary focus was to relish the yearly hatch of hackberry butterflies that adorn this waterway and its terrestrial landscape. We were also hoping to tangle with a few largemouth bass, which we thought would be a trying ordeal because of the immediate aftereffects of the decay of the patches of curly-leaf pondweeds. But most of those aftereffects had already diminished, and our largemouth bass fishing was better than we expected it to be. It was a joy to tangle with these fish and watch the butterflies hover around the boat and take an occasional rest on the tips of our rods.

We made our first casts at 2:22 p.m. And we made our last one when we caught largemouth bass number 30 at 4:20 p.m. We accidentally caught one hefty channel catfish and one tiny green sunfish.

Four of the 30 largemouth bass were caught on a 3.25-inch Z-Man’s The Deal TRD FattyZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. Five were caught on a 3.25-inch Z-Man’s coppertreuse TRD FattyZ affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. Seven were caught on a customized 3 1/3-inch Z-Man’s purple-haze Finesse WormZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ. Fourteen were caught on a 3.25-inch Z-Man’s PB&J TRD FattyZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig.

The purple-haze Finesse WormZ rig is at the top of this photograph. The coppertreuse TRD FattyZ rig is the second one. The PB&J TRD FattyZ rig is the third one. And The Deal TRD FattyZ rig is the fourth one.

We caught 23 largemouth bass during the first 70 minutes of this 118-minute outing.

We spent those 70 minutes dissecting many yards of a massive shallow-water flat in the back of a primary feeder-creek arm.

This area looks to be the size of six or seven football fields. The water’s edges of this flat are endowed with significant patches of American water willows, some overhanging trees, and a few laydowns. A massive patch of American lotus plants enhances an area about the size of two football fields. Two submerged creek channels meander across portions of this flat, and silt has filled many segments of these channels. Much of the underwater terrain is endowed with patches of coontail, and several manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees embellish portions of this flat.

The first two of the 23 largemouth bass were caught along a shoreline and around a large patch of American water willows. One was caught on a deadstick presentation in about eight feet of water with a 3.25-inch Z-Man’s The Deal TRD FattyZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. The second largemouth bass was caught on the initial drop of a 3 1/3-inch Z-Man’s purple-haze Finesse WormZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig in about 3 ½ feet of water.

The other 21 largemouth bass were caught many yards from the patches of American water willows along the water’s edges. They were abiding around patches of coontail in seven to 11 feet of water in an area about the size of two football fields. Two were caught on The Deal TRD FattyZ rig; two were caught on the coppertreuse TRD FattyZ rig; six were caught on the Finesse WormZ rig; 11 were caught on the PB&J TRD Fatty Z rig.

Three were caught on the initial drop. The other 19 were caught on either a swim-and-slight-pause presentation or a swim-glide-and-shake presentation. We had several retrieves when we elicited from one to three strikes that we failed to hook.

The rest of this outing was spent on a shallow-water flat in the back of another primary feeder-creek arm. It looks to be slightly larger than the first one that we fished. Its underwater terrain is endowed with three submerged creek channels that have become laden with silt. An island of rocks, concrete blocks, and a significant patch of American water willows is adjacent to one of the creek channels. The underwater terrain is also bejeweled with growing patches of coontail, several manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees, small patches of bushy pondweeds, and an uncountable number of wads of filamentous algae. What’s more, there were bits and pieces of wilted and decaying curly-leaf pondweeds. The wads of filamentous algae and decaying curly-leaf pondweeds adversely affected the water clarity. And the extensive wads of filamentous algae made many yards of this flat unfishable. The water’s edges of this flat are lined with patches of American water willows, overhanging trees, and laydowns, which were very fishable.

It was a tussle to catch seven largemouth bass across this flat. One of the seven was caught on The Deal TRD FattyZ rig with a deadstick presentation in about six feet of water along one of the shorelines. Along that same shoreline, two largemouth bass were caught on the initial drop of the coppertreuse TRD FattyZ rig in about four feet of water. Across the offshore patches of coontail, we caught four largemouth bass; one was inveigled on the copperteuse TRD FattyZ rig with a swim-glide-and-shake presentation in about seven feet of water; three were caught on the PB&J TRD Fatty rig with a swim-and-pause presentation in six to seven feet of water.

In short, we caught an average of 15 largemouth bass an hour. And we suspect that these were the first largemouth bass in northeastern Kansas to be caught on Z-Man’s new 3.25-inch TRD FattyZ. It is interesting to note that we received an email from Cory Schmidt of Merrifield, Minnesota, on May 30, He is a longtime In-Fisherman field editor and is currently Z-Man’s Media Relations and Marketing Manager. He wrote: [I] “was in New York a few weeks ago, fishing Lake Erie and the Niagara River for smallmouth bass. The TRD FattyZ (PB&J) was by far the best producing bait among our group of fishing writers. It has become my new favorite finesse bait. Love the tail action and the freedom of movement the bait exhibits, continuing to wiggle even on dead stick or river-drifting presentations.”

June 4

Pat and Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about their June 4 outing at a 64-year-old and heavily fished state reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

Here is an edited version of their log.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 68 degrees. The afternoon’s high temperature was 87 degrees. The wind fluctuated from being calm to angling out of the east, southeast, south, southwest, and west at 3 to 10 mph. The conditions of the sky fluctuated from being fair to partly cloudy to mostly cloudy to overcast to cluttered with a few clouds. The barometric pressure was 29.67 at 12:52 a.m., 29.64 at 5:52 a.m., 29.66 at 11:52 a.m., and 29.63 at 4:52 p.m.

The water level looked to be about a foot above its normal level. The surface temperature ranged from 79 to 81 degrees. The water exhibited four to five feet of visibility. Patches of American pondweeds are beginning to grace many of the shallow-water shorelines. Moreover, massive patches of bushy pondweeds are thoroughly coating many acres of the shallow-water flats and shallow-water shorelines. For many weeks this spring, wads of filamentous algae were cluttering this reservoir’s shallow-water shorelines and flats; these wads cluttered the surface and the water around the patches of submerged aquatic vegetation and emergent aquatic vegetation. However, a significant percentage of the filamentous algae has disappeared.

The piscatorial rumor mills have been noting that the largemouth bass fishing at this reservoir has become less than lackluster. The sorry state of the largemouth bass fishing was evident when we arrived at the boat ramp; there was not one tow vehicle and boat trailer in the parking lot.

This used to be an extremely bountiful waterway. For instance, when we were 71 years old, which was 13 years ago, we wanted to see how long it would take for us to catch 71 largemouth bass, and we fished this reservoir and caught 71 largemouth bass in one hour and 50 minutes.

So, on this June 4, 2024, outing, we wanted to fish for one hour and 50 minutes and see how many largemouth bass we could catch.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 8:59 a.m. to 10:59 a.m., 9:27 p.m. to 11:27 p.m., and 2:45 a.m. to 4:45 a.m.

We made our first casts at 12:25 p.m., hoping that vast numbers of largemouth bass had begun to inhabit the patches of bushy pondweeds that embellish the shallow-water flats inside this reservoir’s feeder-creek arms.

But those hopes were unrealized, and as we made our final casts at 2:15 p.m., our fish counter noted that we had caught 14 largemouth bass and accidentally caught eight green fish.

One of the 14 largemouth bass was caught on a three-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. One largemouth bass was caught on a 3 ½-inch Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse WormZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. Five largemouth bass were caught on a 3.25-inch Z-Man’s PB&J FattyZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. Seven of the 14 were caught on a 3.25-inch Z-Man’s The Deal FattyZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead.

We failed to elicit a strike on two of the three shallow-water flats that we fished. We fished each of these flats for about 25 minutes.

We eked out six largemouth bass on a massive flat in the back half of one of this reservoir’s major feeder-creek arms. It is the size of about five football fields. The underwater terrain is enhanced with patches of coontail, enormous patches of bushy pondweeds, numerous manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees, a few stumps, and three submerged creek channels that are gradually being filled with silt. One of the six largemouth bass was caught on the Slim SwimZ rig with a swim-and-slight-pause presentation along the outside edge of a massive patch of bushy pondweeds. The Finesse WormZ rig with a swim-glide-and-shake presentation caught one largemouth bass around a submerged pile of eastern red cedar trees. Four of the six were caught on The Deal TRD FattyZ rig with a swim-and-pause presentation around and near the outside edges of the patches of bushy pondweeds.

We spent the final 20 minutes of this 110-minute outing fishing along the dam’s riprap shoreline, which yielded eight largemouth bass and eight green sunfish. We also elicited nine strikes that we failed to hook. The dam possesses a 35- to 75-degree slope. It is about 400 yards long, and we quickly fished about 35 percent of it. It usually takes more than an hour to thoroughly dissect the entire dam. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are occasionally interlaced with a few minor patches of submerged aquatic vegetation. The water’s edge is endowed with three meager patches of American water willows, a few piles of brush, and several logs. Three of the largemouth bass were caught on The Deal TRD FattyZ rig, and five were caught on the PB&J TRD FattyZ rig. Three were caught as we employed a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in five to seven feet of water. The others were caught on the initial drop of our rigs in three to four feet of water.

In short, we caught an hourly average of 7.7 largemouth bass an hour, which is vastly different from the 39.4 largemouth bass an hour that we caught 13 years ago. And all 71 of them were caught along the dam on a 2 ½-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin ZinkerZ affixed to a red 1/16-ounce mushroom jighead. Perhaps, the diminishing returns of old age are hampering our abilities to catch as many largemouth bass as we used to catch. But there are some talented young anglers who are also struggling to locate and catch significant numbers of largemouth bass at this reservoir.

June 5

Pat and Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about their June 5 outing at an 84-year-old and heavily fished community reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

Here is an edited version of their log.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 61 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 86 degrees. The wind was calm at times, and at other times, it angled out of the north, northwest, and west at 3 to 9 mph. The sky was completely cloudless. The barometric pressure was 29.87 at 1:54 a.m., 29.86 at 5:54 a.m., 29.88 at 11:54 a.m., and 29.80 at 3:54 p.m. Weatherwise, it was a delightful afternoon to be afloat.

The water level looked to be several inches above normal. The surface temperature was 80 degrees. According to our nine-foot push pole, which we call a Secchi stick, the water exhibited about 5 ½ feet of visibility. We were pleased to cross paths with some patches of submerged aquatic vegetation, such as coontail and bushy pondweeds, at a variety of locales. Even though this is traditionally an extremely heavily fished reservoir, we and another angler were the only anglers afloat.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 9:49 a.m. to 11:49 a.m., 10:18 p.m. to 12:18 a.m., and 3:35 a.m. to 5:35 a.m.

We made our first casts at 12:40 p.m. This was another one of our conjugal and geriatric affairs, which means it was a short one, and we made our last casts when we caught largemouth bass number 20 at 3:35 p.m. We also accidentally caught one crappie, two bluegill, and four green sunfish. We also elicited a multitude of meager strikes that we failed to hook.

Four of the 20 largemouth bass were caught on a 3.25-inch Z-Man’s PB&J TRD FattyZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. A 3 ¼-inch Z-Man’s purple-haze Finesse WormZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead inveigled five largemouth bass. Eleven of the 20 were caught on a 3 1/4-inch Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse WormZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/30-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead.

We began this outing by fishing the shoreline of this reservoir’s 1,550-foot dam. It has a height of 58 feet with a 45- to 50-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are occasionally coated with bits and pieces of coontail, a tad of bushy pondweeds, and some wads of filamentous algae. The water’s edge is endowed with a concrete water outlet tower and a few patches of American water willows. The patches of coontail and bushy pondweeds yielded four largemouth bass. One was caught on the Junebug Finesse WormZ rig with a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in about seven feet of water. The other three were caught on the TRD PB&J FattyZ rig with a drag-pause-and-subtle-shake presentation in about five to eight feet of water.

We fished along about a 100-yard stretch of a main-lake shoreline that is in the lower quarter of the reservoir. It possesses a 25- to 30-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are occasionally adorned with patches of coontail and bushy pondweeds. Some of the boulders are humongous, and there are many offshore piles of boulders, and some of them are parallel to a significant ledge. Portions of the water’s edge are endowed with a few concrete and rock retaining walls, and three docks. The initial drop of the Junebug Finesse WormZ rig caught one largemouth bass around a patch of coontail in about five feet of water, and it caught another largemouth bass on the initial drop near a concrete retaining wall and a patch of coontail in about four feet of water. The PB&J FattyZ rig with a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in four to five feet of water caught one largemouth bass on top of an offshore pile of boulders.

Around a main-lake point at the mouth of a small feeder-creek arm in the lower half of this reservoir, we caught four largemouth bass. This point has a 30- to 35-degree slope with a ledge that plummets into deep water. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are occasionally adorned with patches of coontail. The water’s edge consists of a rock retaining wall, two docks, and some patches of American water willows. Our Junebug Finesse WormZ rig inveigled the four largemouth bass with a drag-pause-and-shake presentation in six to nine feet of water.

We spent the final 55 minutes of this 115-minute outing fishing along a massive main-lake shoreline in the middle section of this reservoir. It yielded nine largemouth bass. It has a 30- to 45-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are occasionally coated with patches of coontail and bushy pondweeds and a few wads of filamentous algae. There are a substantial number of gigantic boulders and some significant ledges situated along this shoreline. The water’s edge is endowed with a few patches of American water willows, some overhanging trees, some rock and concrete retaining walls, and 23 docks. Five of the nine largemouth bass were caught on the purple-haze Finesse WormZ rig and four were caught on the Junebug Finesse WormZ rig. Three were caught on the initial drop of our rigs in about four feet of water. The others were caught as we employed a drag-pause-and-shake presentation in five to 10 feet of water.

In short, we caught an average of 10 largemouth bass an hour.

June 5

Bob Gum of Kansas City, Kansas, posted a brief on the Finesse News Network about his June 5 outing at a federal reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

Here is an edited version of his brief.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 57 degrees. The afternoon’s high temperature was 89 degrees. The wind fluctuated from being calm to angling out of the north, west, northwest, southwest, and south at 3 to 9 mph. The sky was fair. The barometric pressure was 29.71 at 12:53 a.m., 29.72 at 5:53 a.m., 29.84 at 12:53 p.m., and 29.73 at 6:53 p.m.

The water level was 3.13 feet above normal. The surface temperature was 79 degrees. The water exhibited 3 ½ to four feet of visibility.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 9:49 a.m. to 11:49 a.m., 10:18 p.m. to 12:18 a.m., and 3:35 a.m. to 5:35 a.m.

I fished from 6:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

I spent most of these 7 ½ hours fishing along gently sloping shorelines and around flat points. I kept the boat floating in 10 to 12 feet of water.

I caught 20 smallmouth bass, 20 freshwater drum, six saugeyes, and one largemouth bass.

My most effective Midwest finesse rigs were a 2 ½-inch Z-Man’s coppertreuse ZinkerZ affixed to a black 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig and a 4.75-inch Z-Man’s PB&J Finesse WormZ affixed to a red 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig, which I retrieved by employing a dragging presentation. Most of these 47 fish were caught in four to eight feet of water.

June 7

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his June 7 outing with Dennis Horner of Lexana, Kansas, at a 92-year-old and heavily fished state reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

Here is an edited version of their log.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 53 degrees. The afternoon’s high temperature was 90 degrees. The sky was fair. The wind was calm for 10 hours, and then it angled out of the south and southeast at 7 to 15 mph, and there were some gusts of wind that reached 18 to 25 mph. The barometric pressure was 29.95 at 12:52 a.m., 29.94 at 5:52 a.m., 29.95 at 11:52 a.m., and 29.98 at 2:52 p.m.

The water level looked to be about a foot above normal. The surface temperature ranged from 79 to 80 degrees. Our nine-foot push pole, which we call our Secchi stick, indicated that the water clarity varied from about three feet to almost seven feet of visibility. More than 90 percent of this reservoir’s vast patches of curly-leaf pondweeds have wilted, and the decay phenomenon was quite pronounced, which made the water a touch hazy at a variety of locales. Patches of bushy pondweeds have replaced the curly-leaf pondweeds at several shallow-water locations. The decaying phenomenon usually stymies the development of this reservoir’s coontail patches for several weeks, and the largemouth bass fishing typically becomes problematic during this phase. And it was on this outing.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 11:19 a.m. to 1:19 p.m., 11:48 p.m. to 1:48 a.m., and 5:34 a.m. to 7:34 a.m.

We made our first casts at 10:59 a.m., and from the get-go, the fishing was problematic. We fished until we simultaneously caught largemouth bass no. 30 and 31 at 2:42 p.m. Thus, it took us three hours and 43 minutes to tangle with 31 largemouth bass, one channel catfish, and one green sunfish, which was a catch rate of eight largemouth bass an hour, but the fishing was so erratic and puzzling that it seemed as if our hourly catch rate was much less than eight an hour.

We caught them on a variety of Midwest finesse rigs, which is another feature of a problematic outing. One of the 31 largemouth bass was caught on a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse TRD rigged on an orange mushroom-style jig. One was caught on a slightly shortened 3.25-inch Z-Man’s coppertreuse TRD FattyZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/20-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. One was caught on a 3.25-inch Z-Man’s PB&J TRD FattyZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/20-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. One was caught on a Z-Man’s PB&J Finesse TRD affixed to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. Seven were caught on a Z-Man’s coppertreuse Finesse TRD affixed to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. Eight were caught on a 3 ¼-inch Z-Man’s purple-haze Finesse WormZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/20-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. A dozen were caught on a 3 ¼-inch Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse WormZ to a chartreuse 1/20-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead.

We failed to elicit a strike across many yards of one small shallow-water flat and two massive shallow-water flats.

Across the shallow-water flat, which is inside a small feeder-creek arm, we eked out two largemouth bass. This flat is endowed with some patches of bushy pondweeds, wilted patches of coontail, a few submerged eastern red cedar trees, and several wads of filamentous algae. One was caught on the PB&J Finesse TRD rig with a slow swimming presentation in about six feet of water around an offshore and meager patches of coontail. The second one was caught on the Junebug Finesse WormZ rig between several offshore wads of filamentous algae in about three to four feet of water with a slow swim-and-pause presentation.

Across a massive shallow-water flat in the back of one of this reservoir’s primary feeder-creek arms, we caught five largemouth bass. Its underwater terrain is endowed with three submerged creek channels that have become laden with silt. An island of rocks and concrete blocks, which is endowed with a significant patch of American water willows, is adjacent to one of the creek channels. The underwater terrain is also adorned with patches of coontail, several manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees, patches of bushy pondweeds, and an uncountable number of wads of filamentous algae. It is about the size of eight or nine football fields, and some portions of it were unfishable because of the wads of filamentous algae and several extremely thick patches of bushy pondweeds. The water’s edges of this flat are lined with patches of American water willows, overhanging trees, laydowns, and several tertiary points. One largemouth bass was caught on the initial drop of the coppertreuse TRD FattyZ rig around an offshore patch of coontail in about seven feet of water. The Junebug Finesse WormZ and a swim-and-slight-pause presentation caught one largemouth bass in about five feet of water around another offshore patch of coontail. The coppertreuse Finesse TRD rig with a swimming presentation caught one largemouth bass in about six feet of water along a thick patch of American water willows that is adjacent to patches of bushy pondweeds. Around one of the tertiary points and patches of American water willows, we caught two largemouth bass; one was caught on the initial drop of the coppertreuse Finesse TRD rig in about four to five feet of water; the second one was caught with the Junebug Finesse WormZ and swim-and-pause presentation in five to six feet of water.

We made untold numbers of casts and retrieves across a shallow-water flat in the back of another one of this reservoir’s primary feeder-creek arms. It looks to be the size of six or seven football fields. The water’s edges of this flat are endowed with significant patches of American water willows, some overhanging trees, and a few laydowns. A massive patch of American lotus plants enhances an area about the size of two football fields. Two submerged creek channels meander across portions of this flat, and silt has filled many segments of these channels. Portions of the underwater terrain are coated with patches of coontail, bits and pieces of bushy pondweeds, and several manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees. All of our casts and various retrieves eventually inveigled nine largemouth bass. Eight of them were caught around the offshore patches of coontail, and one was caught along the outside edge of the offshore American lotus plants that are entwined with some coontail and bushy pondweeds. One was caught on the green-pumpkin Finesse TRD rig with a swimming presentation in about six feet of water. Eight were caught on the Junebug Finesse WormZ rig in five to nine feet of water; two were caught on the initial drop; six were caught on a swim-glide-and-shape presentation.

Around a secondary point inside the second primary feeder-creek arm, we caught one largemouth bass. This point’s underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and a few boulders, which are not endowed with submerged aquatic vegetation. It possesses a 25- to 30-degree slope. The water’s edge is lined with a magnificent patch of American water willows and two minor laydowns, which are cluttered with wads of filamentous algae. The largemouth bass was caught on the initial drop of the Junebug Finesse WormZ rig adjacent to one of the laydowns and wads of filamentous algae in about four feet of water; this rig temporarily hooked another fish on the next cast to this laydown and wad of filamentous algae.

We caught one largemouth bass around one of the main-lake points at the mouth of this feeder-creek point. This point’s underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are embellished with bits of bushy pondweeds and coontail. The shoreline is enhanced with a marvelous patch of American water willows. It possesses a 35- to 40-degree slope. This largemouth bass was caught on the purple-haze Finesse WormZ rig with a drag-and-pause presentation in about nine feet of water.

We caught one largemouth bass around the other main-lake point at the mouth of this feeder-creek point. This point’s underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and some humongous boulders, which are embellished with a few meager patches of bushy pondweeds and coontail. The shoreline is enhanced with a patch of American water willows. It possesses a 40- to 45-degree slope. This largemouth bass was caught on the purple-haze Finesse WormZ rig with a drag-and-pause presentation in about seven to eight feet of water.

Along about a 100-yard stretch of the main-lake shoreline adjacent to this main-lake point, we eked out four largemouth bass. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and humongous boulders, which are occasionally embellished with a few meager patches of bushy pondweeds and coontail. The shoreline is enhanced with patches of American water willows, some piles of brush, and several laydowns. It possesses a 45- to 75-degree slope. Three of the largemouth bass were caught on the coppertreuse Finesse TRD rig; one was caught on the initial drop and three were caught on a drag-and-pause presentation in five to 10 feet of water. One was caught on the PB&J TRD FattyZ rig on a drag-and-pause presentation in about seven feet of water.

We caught two largemouth bass along a 75-yard stretch of another main-lake shoreline. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are embellished with patches of bushy pondweeds and coontail. The shoreline is graced with patches of American water willows, some piles of brush, and several laydowns. It possesses a 25- to 35-degree slope. Both of the largemouth bass were caught on the purple-haze Finesse WormZ. One was caught around a tertiary point in the vicinity of a laydown with a swim-glide-and-shake presentation in about six feet of water. The other one was along the outside edge of a patch of American water willows and amongst some bushy pondweeds in about six feet of water with a swim-glide-and-shake presentation.

We caught six largemouth bass around a main-lake point at the mouth of a small feeder-creek arm. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are decked out with some significant patches of bushy pondweeds and coontail. The shoreline is graced with grandiose patches of American water willows, some piles of brush, and one laydown. It possesses a 35-degree slope. Two of the largemouth bass were caught on the coppertreuse Finesse TRD rig; one was caught on the initial drop in about four feet of water near the outside edge of the American water willows; the second one was caught on a slow swim-and-pause presentation in about six feet of water. Four of the largemouth bass were caught on the purple-haze Finesse WormZ rig; one was caught on the initial drop along the outside edge of the American water willows; the other three were caught on a drag-and-pause presentation six to nearly 10 feet of water.

In short, we allow this reservoir to recover from its yearly demise and decay of the curly-leaf pondweeds for two to three weeks before we fish it again.

June 11

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, and Rick Hebenstreit of Shawnee, Kansas posted a log on the Finesse News Network about their June 11 outing at an 84-year-old community reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

Here is an edited version of their log.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 59 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 82 degrees. The wind was calm at times, and at other times, it angled out of the south, southeast, and southwest at 3 to 13 mph; there was a 21-mph gust recorded at 1:53 p.m. The sky was fair. The barometric pressure was 29.99 at 12:53 a.m., 30:00 at 5:54 a.m., 30:01 at 11:54 a.m., and 29.99 at 1:53 p.m.

The water level looked to be several inches above normal. The surface temperature ranged from 78 to 81 degrees. According to our nine-foot push pole, which we call a Secchi stick, the water exhibited about six feet of visibility around the dam, and it diminished to 3 ½ to four feet of visibility at several locales in the upper half of this reservoir. There were untold numbers of floating duckweed particles covering the surface at several areas in the upper portions of the reservoir. We crossed paths with numerous patches of submerged aquatic vegetation, such as coontail and bushy pondweeds, at a variety of locations in the upper and lower sections of the reservoir.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 3:15 a.m. to 5:15 a.m., 3:38 p.m. to 5:38 p.m., and 9:27 a.m. to 11:27 a.m.

Waterwise and weatherwise, it looked and felt like a delightful day to be afloat. Traditionally, this urban reservoir has been fished extremely heavily. But, on this outing, we were the only anglers afloat, which is a phenomenon that we have witnessed at several of the community and state reservoirs in northeastern Kansas that we have fished during the first 5 ½ months of 2024. We suspect that some of this absence of fishing pressure stems from the difficulties of catching significant numbers of largemouth bass that have confounded many anglers this year. And on this outing, we found the largemouth bass fishing to be very trying indeed.

When we made our first casts at 9:44 a.m., we were hoping to catch at least 50 largemouth bass. But when we executed our last casts at 1:44 p.m., our mechanical counters noted that we had caught only 33 largemouth bass and accidentally caught 30 panfish, which were either bluegill or green sunfish.

Four of the 33 largemouth bass were caught on a 4.75-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ affixed to a blue 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig. Six were caught on a slightly shortened 3.25-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin-goby TRD FattyZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/20-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. Ten were caught on a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD affixed to a chartreuse 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jighead. And 13 were caught on a 3 ¼-inch Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse WormZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/20-ounce Z-Man’s Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead.

We began this outing by fishing the shoreline of this reservoir’s 1,550-foot dam. It has a height of 58 feet with a 45- to 50-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are occasionally coated with bits and pieces of coontail, a tad of bushy pondweeds, and some wads of filamentous algae. The water’s edge is endowed with a concrete water outlet tower and a few meager patches of American water willows. The patches of coontail and bushy pondweeds yielded nine largemouth bass. Four were caught on the green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ rig; one was caught on the initial drop in about four feet of water; three were caught on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in four to seven feet of water. Five were caught on the Junebug Finesse WormZ rig; one was caught on the initial drop in about four feet of water; one was caught on an accidental deadstick presentation in six to seven feet of water; three were caught on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in five to eight feet of water.

We caught one largemouth bass along the side of a dock on the shoreline immediately adjacent to the dam. It was caught on the Junebug Finesse WormZ rig in about nine feet of water with a drag-and-slight-pause presentation.

Around a main-lake point in the lower half of this reservoir, we caught three largemouth bass. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are endowed with occasional patches of coontail. It has a 25-degree slope that eventually plummets radically into deep water. The water’s edge is lined with a stone retaining wall, two docks, and patches of American water willows. Two of the three largemouth bass were inveigled on the Finesse TRD rig with a slow swim-glide-and-incessant-shake presentation in five to six feet of water in the vicinity of the patches of American water willows; the third one was caught on the initial drop of the Finesse TRD rig near a dock and around some piles of rocks and boulders in about four feet of water.

We struggled to catch four largemouth bass along a massive main-lake shoreline in the middle section of this reservoir. This shoreline has a 30- to 45-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are occasionally coated with patches of coontail and bushy pondweeds and a few wads of filamentous algae. There are a substantial number of gigantic boulders and some significant ledges situated along this shoreline. The water’s edge is endowed with a few patches of American water willows, some overhanging trees, some stone retaining walls, and 23 docks. Three of the four largemouth bass were caught on the Finesse TRD rig with a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in about five to eight feet of water. One of the four was caught on the TRDFattyZ rig with a drag-pause-and-shake presentation in about seven feet of water adjacent to one of the docks.

Along about a 200-yard shoreline in the upper half of the reservoir, we caught three largemouth bass. It has four main-lake points, which were fruitless. Its gradient has a 25- to 40-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are enhanced with occasional patches of coontail. The water’s edge is littered with 14 docks, some stone and concrete retaining walls, one overhanging tree, one pile of tree limbs, and a few patches of American water willows. One largemouth bass was caught on the Junebug Finesse WormZ rig with a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in about six feet of water along the edge of one of the docks and around a patch of coontail. The other two were caught near one of the concrete retaining walls on the initial drop of the Junebug Finesse WormZ rig in about four feet of water.

We caught five largemouth bass along about a 350-yard stretch of a shoreline that is situated in the upper half of the reservoir. It has one main-lake point, which is flat and enhanced with coontail patches and floating particles of duckweeds. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. Parts of this terrain are quilted with patches of coontail, a few patches of bushy pondweeds, and some wads of filamentous algae. It possesses a 25- to 60-degree slope. The water’s edge consists of several concrete retaining walls, some stone retaining walls, some riprap, 10 docks, one small rock bridge, a few laydowns, several piles of brush, some patches of American water willows, and a few overhanging trees. One of the five largemouth bass was caught on the initial drop of the Finesse TRD rig in about four feet of water adjacent to a concrete retaining wall and a dock. Four of the five were caught on the Junebug Finesse TRD; one was caught on the initial drop next to the concrete retaining wall in about five feet of water; one of the four was caught around a tertiary point and a patch of American water willows on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in about six feet of water; two were caught around shallow-water patches of coontail on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation in four to five feet of water.

We eked out four largemouth bass along about a 200-yard stretch of another shoreline in the upper half of the reservoir. This area possesses a 25- to 70-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are enhanced occasionally with some patches of coontail and bushy pondweeds. Along the stretch that we fished, there are 14 docks, some concrete retaining walls, several stone retaining walls, several overhanging trees, one massive laydown, a few piles of brush, and occasional patches of American water willows, which are embellished with floating duckweeds. Two of the four were caught on the Finesse TRD rig with a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in six to seven feet of water. The other two were caught on the TRD FattyZ rig; one was caught on the initial drop at a 90-degree corner of one of the concrete retaining walls in about three feet of water; the second one was caught on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation in five to six feet of water.

We spent the final 27 minutes of this difficult outing fishing along three short portions of another massive shoreline in the middle section of this reservoir. The underwater terrains of these three areas consist of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are occasionally coated with bushy pondweeds and coontail. Their water’s edges are bedecked with 16 docks, several overhanging trees, a few meager piles of brush; either some stone or concrete retaining walls, and patches of American water willows. We eked out four largemouth bass; one was caught on the initial drop of the Finesse TRD in about four feet of water in front of a patch of American water willows and under an overhanging tree. Three were caught on the TRD FattyZ rig; one was caught around the inside corner of one of the docks in about five feet of water; the second one was caught around a small pile of brush with a swim-and-pause presentation in about five feet of water; the third one was caught on a swimming presentation around patches of coontail in five to six feet of water.

At the least, we were hoping to catch an average of 12.5 largemouth bass an hour, but we struggled to catch 8.25 per hour.

June 20

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, and Rick Hebenstreit of Shawnee, Kansas, posted a log about their outing at an 82-year-old community reservoir in northeastern Kansas on June 28.

Here is an edited version of this log.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 72 degrees. The afternoon’s high temperature was 89 degrees. The wind angled out of the north, northeast, east, southeast, southwest, and west at 5 to 10 mph. The condition of the sky fluctuated from being foggy and misty to mostly cloudy to partly cloudy to fair to cluttered with a few clouds. The barometric pressure was 30.23 at 12:53 a.m., 30.24 at 5:53 a.m., 30.26 at 11:53 a.m., and 30.23 at 2:53 p.m.

The water level looked to be several inches above normal. The surface temperature ranged from 83 to 84 degrees. The water exhibited from three to six feet of visibility. Many of this reservoir’s patches of coontail, bushy pondweeds, and other kinds of submerged aquatic vegetation are not healthy. Since the disappearance of the zebra mussels, the patches of coontail have deteriorated significantly. Usually, this is a heavily fished reservoir, but besides us, there was only one other angler afloat; this scarcity of anglers has been a common phenomenon at all of the community and state reservoirs that we have fished this year; we suspect that the pitiful fishing that we have endured in 2024 is keeping many anglers at bay.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would occur from 9:27 a.m. to 11:27 a.m., 9:54 p.m. to 11:54 p.m., and 3:13 a.m. to 5:13 a.m.

We made our first casts at 10:15 a.m. and executed our last ones at 2:20 p.m.

During this four-hour and five-minute outing, we struggled mightily to catch 21 largemouth bass and accidentally caught one white bass, six green sunfish, and 10 bluegill.

One largemouth bass was caught on a Z-Man’s Junebug TRD MinnowZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig. A Z-Man’s coppertreuse Finesse TRD rigged on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig caught one largemouth bass. A Z-Man’s yoga-pants Micro WormZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/20-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead caught one largemouth bass. Three largemouth bass were caught on a 3 ¼-inch Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse WormZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/20-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. Fifteen largemouth bass were caught on a Z-Man’s yoga-pants Micro TRD affixed to a baby-blue 1/20-ounce Z-Man’s Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead.

The Z-Man's yoga-pants Micro TRD rig is at the top of this photograph. The yoga-pants Micro WormZ rig is at the bottom of this photograph.

Inside a small feeder-creek arm, we caught four largemouth bass. This feeder creek is located in the middle section of the reservoir. The shorelines inside this feeder-creek arm are cluttered with 12 large docks, one concrete retaining wall, and two concrete boat ramps. These shorelines possess a 25- to 45-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel and rocks, and portions of this terrain are quilted with patches of coontail and bushy pondweeds. These largemouth bass were caught many feet from the water’s edge. One of the largemouth bass was caught on the TRD MinnowZ rig with a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in about five to six feet of water around some patches of coontail. Three were caught on the Junebug Finesse WormZ rig; one was caught on the initial drop in about seven feet of water around a patch of coontail; two were caught on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation around patches of coontail in about seven to eight feet of water.

Around a main-lake point at the mouth of this small feeder-creek arm, we caught 0ne largemouth bass. This point has a 25-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders that are somewhat quilted with patches of coontail. One largemouth bass was caught on the initial drop of the Micro TRD rig in about six feet of water on top of a patch of coontail.

Around the other main-lake point at the mouth of this small feeder-creek arm, we failed to elicit a strike. But along the main-lake shoreline that is adjacent to this main-lake point, we caught 13 largemouth bass. This shoreline looks to be about 400 yards long. It possesses a 15- to 40-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders; some of the boulders are humongous. The water’s edge is frequently endowed with thick patches of American water willows, which are occasionally interwoven with bushy pondweeds and coontail and a few piles of brush. One of the 13 was caught on the initial drop of the Micro WormZ rig in about six feet of water near a pile of brush. Our Micro TRD rigs inveigled 12 of the 13 largemouth bass around patches of coontail in about five to seven feet of water. Six were caught on the initial drop; the others were caught on a swim-and-pause presentation.

Around the main-lake point at the end of this main-lake shoreline, we caught one largemouth bass. This point has a 30-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel and rocks, which are moderately enhanced with patches of coontail on bushy pondweeds. The initial drop of the Micro TRD rig caught the largemouth bass on top of a patch of coontail in about four feet of water.

In the lower half of this reservoir, we caught one largemouth bass along about a 100-yard stretch of a main-lake shoreline. This shoreline has a 30- to 35-degree slope. The water’s edge is adorned with patches of American water willows and several massive laydowns. The underwater terrain consists of gravel and rocks that are somewhat quilted with patches of bushy pondweeds and coontail. This largemouth bass was caught on the coppertreuse Finesse TRD rig with a swim-glide-and-shake presentation around a patch of coontail in about six feet of water.

We caught one largemouth bass along about a 150-yard stretch of a main-lake shoreline in the lower end of this reservoir. This shoreline possesses a 35- to 45-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are occasionally enhanced with some meager patches of coontail and bushy pondweeds and a few manmade piles of brush. The water’s edge is lined with patches of American water willows. The Micro TRD rig with a swim-and-slight-pause presentation inveigled this largemouth bass in about six feet of water around a patch of coontail.

Across an offshore hump and shallow-water flat inside a medium-size feeder-creek arm in the middle section of this reservoir, we caught one largemouth bass. The underwater terrain consists of gravel and rocks, which are scantily clad with some submerged aquatic vegetation, which we didn’t identify. This largemouth bass was caught on a swim-and-pause presentation with the Micro TRD rig in five to six feet of water.

We failed to catch a largemouth bass around five main-lake points and short portions of their main-lake shorelines, across a shallow-water main-lake flat, and about a 200-yard stretch of a main-lake shoreline.

During the 245 minutes that we were afloat, it was a hellish struggle to catch an average of five largemouth bass an hour, and we caught the bulk of them on Z-Man’s Micro rigs, which is a telltale sign of how difficult the fishing was. We will not venture to this reservoir until August.

June 21

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his June 21 outing at a 64-year-old and heavily fished state reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

Here is an edited version of his log.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 73 degrees. The afternoon’s high temperature was 91 degrees. The wind angled out of the east, southeast, south, and southwest at 3 to 15 mph, and between 1:53 p.m. and 4:53 p.m.there were some gusts of wind that ranged from 20 to 23 mph. The conditions of the sky fluctuated from being fair to partly cloudy to mostly cloudy to cluttered with a few clouds. The barometric pressure was 30.19 at 12:52 a.m., 30.17 at 5:52 a.m., 30:15 at 11:52 a.m., and 30.07 at 3:52 p.m.

The water level looked to be normal. The surface temperature ranged from 83 to 87 degrees. The water exhibited 2 ½ to four feet of visibility. Patches of American pondweeds are gracing some of the shallow-water shorelines. Patches of bushy pondweeds are completely coating many yards and acres of the shallow-water flats and shallow-water shorelines, and they are too thick to quickly fish with our Midwest finesse methods.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 10:23 a.m. to 12:23 p.m., 10:52 p.m. to 12:52 a.m., and 4:09 a.m. to 6:09 a.m.

I made my first cast at 1:24 p.m. and my last one when I caught largemouth bass number 20 at 4:04 p.m. I also tangled with two redear sunfish, four channel catfish, five bluegill, and six green sunfish. And I was the only angler afloat.

It was a micro finesse outing; the second one this week. Nine of the 20 largemouth bass were caught on a radically customized seven-inch Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse WormZ; two inches of the tip of the Finesse WormZ’s tail was amputated and affixed to a chartreuse 1/20-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. Eleven largemouth bass were caught on a Z-Man’s yoga-pants Micro TRD affixed to a baby-blue 1/20-ounce Z-Man’s Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. The Micro TRD is 1.75 inches long. All of the channel catfish and panfish were allured by these two rigs.

The Yoga-pants Micro TRD rig is at the top, and the radically shortened Finesse WormZ rig is at the bottom of this photograph.

I quickly fished across portions of a massive shallow-water flat in the back of one of this reservoir’s major feeder-creek arms. The bushy pondweeds were overwhelming on this flat, and I eked out one largemouth bass, which engulfed the Micro TRD rig on the initial drop around a wad of bushy pondweeds. I also quickly fished along about a 100-yard stretch of one of this flat’s shorelines, which is associated with a submerged creek channel. This shoreline has a 30- to 45-degree slope. The water’s edge is endowed with patches of American pondweeds, American water willows, laydowns, and overhanging trees, and much of it is intertwined with patches of bushy pondweeds and coontail. The initial drop of the Micro TRD rig caught two largemouth bass in about three to four feet of water along the outside edges of the patches of American water willows and in the vicinity of some of the laydowns and the patches of bushy pondweeds and coontail.

In the vicinity of a boat ramp, I fished around three riprap jetties and several sections of the shorelines adjacent to these jetties. Shortly after the initial drop of the radically shortened Finesse WormZ rig, I caught one largemouth bass with a swim-and-pause presentation in four to five feet of water around one of the jetties.

I spent most of this two-hour and forty-minute outing fishing along the dam’s riprap shoreline, which was mildly windblown. It yielded 16 largemouth bass and a variety of other species. I also elicited more than a dozen strikes that I failed to hook, and I suspect most of them were executed by panfish. The dam possesses a 35- to 75-degree slope. It is about 400 yards long. It usually takes more than an hour to thoroughly dissect the entire dam. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are occasionally interlaced with a few minor patches of submerged aquatic vegetation. The water’s edge is endowed with three very shallow-water patches of American water willows, a few piles of brush, and several logs. Eight of the largemouth bass were caught on the Micro TRD rig, and the other eight were caught on the radically shortened Finesse WormZ rig. They were caught on either the initial drop of these rigs in two to three feet of water or a swim-and-pause presentation in three to six feet of water.

In short, I caught an hourly average of slightly more than seven largemouth bass an hour. And I failed to elicit a strike on our standard-sized Midwest finesse rigs or even slightly shortened ones.

June 23

Pat and Ned Kehde posted a log on the Finesse News Network about their outing at an 85-year-old community reservoir in northeastern Kansas on June 23.

Here is an edited version of their log.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 64 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 93 degrees. The wind fluctuated from being calm to angling out of the north, northwest, southeast, south, and east at 3 to 7 mph. The sky was fair. The barometric pressure was 29.89 at 12:52 a.m., 29.93 at 5:52 a.m., 29.97 at 11:52 a.m., and 29.93 at 2:52 p.m.

The water level looked to be normal. The surface temperature ranged from 84 to 87 degrees. Our nine-foot dipstick revealed that the water exhibited about two to 2 ½ feet of visibility.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 11:54 a.m. to 1:54 p.m., 12:23 p.m. to 2:23 p.m., and 6:08 a.m. to 8:08 a.m.

This was another one of our short, conjugal, and geriatric outings. It was also a rare Sunday splurge, which was highlighted by an enjoyable shoreline lunch staged under an overhanging black walnut tree where we enjoyed watching the antics of dozens of butterflies that were abiding around a majestic patch of American water willows that were adjacent to the hull of our boat.

There were vast numbers of picnickers, swimmers, kayakers, paddleboarders, and recreational boaters, but only a few anglers were afloat.

We made our first casts at 11:50 a.m. and our last ones at 1:50 p.m. We stopped fishing from 12:50 to 1:11 p.m. to eat lunch, chat, and relish the butterflies. During the one hour and 39 minutes that we fished, we caught 11 largemouth bass, one crappie, six bluegill, seven channel catfish, and 12 green sunfish.

We have recently become devotees of Z-Man’s Micro finesse rigs, and all of these fish were caught on a Z-Man’s yoga-pants Micro TRD affixed to either a baby-blue 1/20-ounce Z-Man’s Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead or a red 1/20-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead or two inches of the tip of a seven-inch Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse WormZ’s tail that was affixed to a chartreuse 1/20-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead.

We fished along the rock- and boulder-laden shoreline of the dam and its spillway for one hour and caught 10 largemouth bass, two channel catfish, five bluegill, and eight green sunfish. The dam’s shoreline possesses about a 50-degree slope. The spillway has a very gradual slope. The dam’s water’s edge is endowed with many patches of American water willows, a riprap jetty that supports an outlet tower, a few logs, and some small piles of limbs and branches. There are a few submerged eastern cedar trees and meager patches of submerged aquatic vegetation enhancing the underwater terrain. The spillway’s edge possesses a patch of cattails and many patches of American water willows. Three of the 25 fish were caught on a deadstick presentation in three to six feet of water. Eight of the 25 fish were caught on the initial drop of our rigs in about two to four feet of water. The others were caught on either a swim-and-pause presentation or a drag-and-pause presentation.

After our lunch, chat, and butterfly adorations, we caught one largemouth bass, five channel catfish, one crappie, one bluegill, and four green sunfish. They were caught along about a 150-yard stretch of a secondary shoreline just inside the mouth of a primary feeder-creek arm. This shoreline possesses a 30- to 45-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel rocks and boulders, which are occasionally quilted with patches of Eurasian milfoil and a few piles of brush. The water’s edge is graced by many magnificent patches of American water willows, about a dozen laydowns, two docks, one small concrete retaining wall, and many overhanging trees. Three of the 12 fish were caught on our Junebug Finesse WormZ rig and nine were caught on our yoga-pants Micro TRD rigs. Five were caught on the initial drop in about three feet of water. Seven were caught on a slow swim-and-pause presentation in about four to six feet of water.

In short, we caught an average of about six largemouth bass an hour and an average of about 23 fish an hour. We are numbers anglers, and the Micro rigs proved once again to be very effective rigs to wield in late June. They are delightful tools for a pair of old codgers to use during their Sunday lunch. Even though we are dyed-in-the-wool black bass anglers, who are always hoping to tangle with 25 black bass an hour, Micro fishing is an entertaining way to elicit dozens of strikes from a variety of species.

June 26

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his June 26 outing at a 64-year-old and heavily fished state reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

Here is an edited version of his log.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 68 degrees. The afternoon’s high temperature was 87 degrees. The wind angled out of the east, northeast, southeast, north, south, and southwest at 3 to 28 mph, and between 2:52 a.m. and 3:52 a.m., some gusts of wind ranged from 37 to 38 mph. The conditions of the sky fluctuated from being fair to partly cloudy to mostly cloudy. Several significant thunderstorms erupted from 2:52 a.m. to 4:52 a.m., dropping from .88 to three inches of rain. The barometric pressure was 29.97 at 12:52 a.m., 29.88 at 5:52 a.m., 29.92 at 11:52 a.m., and 29.92 at 3:52 p.m.

The water level looked to be a couple of inches above normal. The surface temperature was 84 degrees. The water exhibited 2 ½ to four feet of visibility.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would occur from 3:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m., 3:25 p.m. to 5:25 p.m., and 9:12 a.m. to 11:12 a.m.

I made my first cast at 1:59 p.m. and my last one when I caught largemouth bass number 20 at 3:39 p.m. I also tangled with four channel catfish, five bluegill, and 12 green sunfish.

I have become somewhat addicted to micro finesse fishing. Therefore, on this one-hour and 40-minute outing, I used four rigs: a Z-Man’s yoga-pants Micro TRD affixed to a baby-blue 1/20-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead; a Z-Man’s coppertreuse Micro TRD affixed to a red 1/20-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead; a radically customized Z-Man’s black/blue Hula StickZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/20-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead; and a radically customized seven-inch Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse WormZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/20-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. The Finesse WormZ rig and Hula StickZ rig are two inches long.

The coppertreuse Micro TRD rig caught six of the 20 largemouth bass. The Junebug Finesse WormZ caught seven of the 20 largemouth bass. The yoga-pants Micro TRD rig caught seven largemouth bass. The Hula StickZ didn’t allure a largemouth bass, but it caught 10 green sunfish. I failed to count how many strikes I failed to hook, but there were many of them, and I suspect most of them were executed by panfish.

I spent the entire 100 minutes dissecting the dam’s entire riprap shoreline. The dam possesses a 35- to 75-degree slope. It is about 400 yards long. It usually takes slightly more than an hour to dissect the entire dam. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders that are occasionally interlaced with a few minor patches of submerged aquatic vegetation. The water’s edge is endowed with three very shallow-water patches of American water willows, a few piles of brush, and several logs. The bulk of the 20 largemouth bass and 21 other fish were caught along about a 50-yard section of the dam, and I fished along this stretch twice for many minutes. They were caught in about three to 11 feet of water. One of the largemouth bass was caught in 11 feet of water as I was strolling and employing a drag-and-deadstick presentation and talking to Bob Gum of Kansas City, Kansas, on the cellphone about how difficult the black bass fishing has been at northeastern Kansas’ community, federal, and state reservoirs this year. The other fish were caught on either the initial drop of the rigs or as I was employing a slow swim-and-slight-pause presentation.

I caught an hourly average of 11 largemouth bass and an hourly average of 24 fish. In years past, we used to tangle with 25 to 70 largemouth bass an hour on this dam. Because our black bass fishing has become so trying at our waterways, I have had to become a micro-finesse angler. And by wielding these rigs on a Z-Man’s five-foot, four-inch Drew’s Ultimate Ned Rig Rod with four-pound-test Berkely FireLine and a four-pound-test fluorocarbon leader, it has become a new and fun way to fish

June 28

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, and Pok Chi Lau of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about their June 28 outing at an 85-year-old northeastern Kansas community reservoir.

Here is an edited version of their log.

The National Weather Service reported the morning’s low temperature was 75 degrees. The afternoon’s high temperature was 93 degrees. The wind angled out of the southeast, south, southwest, northeast, and east at 9 to 17 mph, and many wind gusts ranged from 20 to 28 mph. The sky fluctuated from being fair to being adorned with a few clouds to being mostly cloudy to being partly cloudy to being overcast to raining lightly to misty and foggy to having a thunderstorm. The barometric pressure was 29.69 at 1:53 a.m., 29.67 at 6:53 a.m., 29.64 a.m. at 12:53 a.m., and 29.67 at 3:53 p.m.

The water level looked to be slightly above its normal level. The surface temperature was 81 to 83 degrees. The water exhibited from about two to four feet of clarity.

In-Fisherman’s solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would occur from 4:48 a.m. to 6:48 a.m., 5:11 p.m. to 7:11 p.m., and 11:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.

We fished from 11:57 a.m. until we caught black bass number 50 at 3:27 p.m. Twenty-eight of the 50 black bass were smallmouth bass. We also tangled with one flathead catfish, three channel catfish, four bluegill, and five freshwater drum.

Along several of the areas we fish, we had to employ a large drift sock to tame the effects of the wind and its many gusts.

We used four Midwest finesse rigs. The two-inch tip of a seven-inch Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse WormZ’s tail affixed to a chartreuse 1/20-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead caught five black bass. A Z-Man’s yoga-pants Micro TRD affixed to a baby-blue 1/20-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead caught eight black bass. A Z-Man’s coppertreuse Micro TRD affixed to a red 1/20-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead caught 11 black bass. And a Z-Man’s coppertreuse TRD TicklerZ affixed to either a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jighead or a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead caught 26 black bass.

We caught one largemouth bass around a main-lake point in the upper half of the reservoir. This point possesses about a 45-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders that are occasionally endowed with patches of submerged aquatic vegetation. The shoreline is graced with marvelous patches of American water willows and one laydown. The yoga-pants Micro TRD rig and slow swim-and-pause presentation caught the largemouth bass in about six feet of water.

Along about a 150-yard stretch of a main-lake shoreline and around its flat main-lake point, we caught four smallmouth bass and five largemouth bass. This shoreline and point are in the upper half of the reservoir. They possess a 15- to 40-degree slope. Their underwater terrains consist of gravel, rocks, boulders, and several stumps; portions of this terrain are coated with meager patches of bushy pondweeds and Eurasian milfoil. The water’s edge possesses several overhanging trees, a few submerged PVC and metal water pipes, patches of American water willows, one dock, two concrete dock piers, and a few laydowns. Two of the nine black bass were caught on the coppertreuse Micro TRD rig. Three of the nine were caught on the Finesse WormZ rig. Four of the nine were caught on the TicklerZ rig. The smallmouth bass were caught on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation in four to seven feet of water a few yards from the shoreline. The largemouth bass were caught on the initial drop in about three to four feet of water; one was caught adjacent to one of the concrete dock piers; the others were caught along the American water willows or under the overhanging trees.

We caught one smallmouth bass and two largemouth bass along a secondary shoreline inside a tiny feeder-creek arm in the upper half of the reservoir. This shoreline has a 15- to 30-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are enhanced with a few minor piles of brush and several patches of bushy pondweeds and Eurasian milfoil. The shoreline is endowed with three tertiary points, patches of American water willows, a few overhanging trees, and a submerged water pipe. The TRD TicklerZ rig caught the three black bass. The smallmouth bass was caught around a tertiary point strolling with a drag-and-shake presentation in about five feet of water. One largemouth bass was caught on the initial drop in about three feet of water. The second largemouth bass was caught on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation in about four feet of water.

In the middle portion of the reservoir, we caught four largemouth bass along about a 35-yard stretch of a main-lake shoreline. This shoreline possesses about a 30-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are densely coated with bushy pondweeds. The water’s edge is adorned with thick patches of American water willows. The TRD TicklerZ rig caught these largemouth bass. Three were caught on a swim-glide-and-incessant-shake presentation in about four to five feet of water. One was inveigled on the initial drop in about three to four feet of water.

Around a main-lake point in the middle section of the reservoir, we caught two smallmouth bass. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. It has about a 40-degree slope with deep water nearby. The water’s edge is lined with magnificent patches of American water willows. The yoga-pants Micro TRD rig with a drag-and-pause presentation allured both of the smallmouth bass in about seven feet of water.

Along a 70-yard stretch of a secondary shoreline inside a small feeder-creek arm, we caught six smallmouth bass and four largemouth bass. This shoreline possesses a 30- to 40-degree slope. Its underwater terrain is comprised of gravel, rocks, boulders, and a few stumps, which are sporadically graced with patches of submerged aquatic vegetation and a few piles of brush. The water’s edge possesses many magnificent patches of American water willows, one large dock, two overhanging trees, and a dilapidated laydown. The coppertreuse Micro TRD caught four of the black bass, and the coppertreuse TRD TicklerZ rig caught six. Two were caught on the initial drop along or near the outside edge of the American water willows. The other eight were caught on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation in the vicinity of the patches of submerged aquatic vegetation in five to seven feet of water.

We failed to elicit a strike around a secondary point and along a 50-yard stretch of another shoreline inside this small feeder-creek arm.

In the lower half of the reservoir, we caught three largemouth bass and four smallmouth bass along about a 300-yard stretch of a main-lake shoreline and its flat main-lake point. This flat point is at the mouth of the reservoir's spillway. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, a few stumps, and some piles of brush. This terrain is graced with occasional patches of submerged aquatic vegetation. The flat point is garnished with a significant patch of bushy pondweed. This entire area possesses a 15- to 45-degree slope with deep water nearby. The shoreline is embellished with many overhanging trees and terrestrial vegetation, one dock, one concrete dock pier, a few laydowns, and many patches of American water willows. Two of the seven black bass were caught on the Finesse WormZ rig; one was caught on a short deadstick presentation on some small boulders adjacent to a patch of American water willows in about four feet of water; the other one was caught on the initial drop in about four feet of water near a laydown. Two of the seven were caught on the coppertreuse Micro TRD with a swim-and-pause presentation around the bushy pondweeds on the flat point in about five feet of water. Three of the seven black bass were caught on the TRD TicklerZ rig; one was caught on the initial drop on the flat point and its bushy pondweeds; the other two were caught on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation in five to seven feet of water.

Around a main-lake point at the mouth of the spillway, we caught three smallmouth bass. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel and rocks, which are beginning to be decorated with bushy pondweeds and Eurasian milfoil. The water’s edge is furbished with thick patches of American water willows. It has about a 30-degree slope. The TRD TicklerZ rig with a swim-glide-and-shake p[resentation caught one of the three smallmouth bass in about four to five feet of water. The coppertreuse Micro rig caught the other two smallmouth bass with a swim-and-pause presentation in about four feet of water.

We failed to elicit a strike inside the spillway’s shorelines, around two large concrete piers, around a patch of Eurasian milfoil and several patches of bushy pondweeds, and over a boulder hump.

We also failed to garner a strike along a section of the shoreline immediately adjacent to the dam.

The dam, however, yielded one largemouth bass and five smallmouth bass. Because of the direction of the wind and white caps, we couldn’t use our drift sock, and it was a chore to fish. Its underwater terrain consists of riprap, which is sporadically coated with patches of submerged aquatic vegetation. There are several minor or very short rock jetties. The water’s edge is lined with shallow-water patches of American water willows. The largemouth bass was caught on the TRD TicklerZ rig by strolling and employing a drag-and-shake presentation in about six to seven feet of water. The TRD TicklerZ rig caught two of the five smallmouth bass; one was caught on the initial drop in three to four feet of water; the second one was caught on a swim-glide-shake presentation in about four to five feet of water. The yoga-pants Micro TRD rig caught three of the five smallmouth bass; one was caught on the initial drop in about three to four feet of water; the other two were caught on a slow swim-and-pause presentation in about five feet of water.

We caught black bass numbers 47, 48, 49, and 50 along about a 100-yard stretch of a main-lake shoreline in the middle section of the reservoir. This shoreline is also endowed with two main-lake points. It possesses a 40- to 60-degree slope with deep water nearby and a submerged creek channel. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, and some of them are enhanced with patches of submerged aquatic vegetation. The water’s edge is decked out with wonderful patches of American water willows, several overhanging trees and terrestrial vegetation, a few laydowns, and some piles of brush. One smallmouth bass was caught on the TRD TicklerZ rig while strolling and employing a drag-and-shake presentation in six to eight feet of water near a massive overhanging tree and some piles of brush. One largemouth bass was caught on the initial drop of the yoga-pants Micro TRD rig in the vicinity of some overhanging terrestrial vegetation in about four feet of water. One largemouth bass was caught on the TRD TicklerZ rig with a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in about six feet of water. And the largemouth bass, which was black bass number 50, was caught on the TRD TicklerZ rig with a swim-glide-and-shake presentation around a patch of submerged aquatic vegetation in about six feet of water.

During this 3 ½-hour ordeal of dealing with Mother Nature's windy disposition, we were surprised to catch an hourly average of 14 black bass an hour.