Midwest Finesse Fishing: March 2024

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, with one of the largemouth bass that he caught on Mar. 19.

 Mar. 1

Bob Gum of Kansas City, Kansas, posted a brief on the Finesse News Network about his Mar. 1 outing at a 46-year-old power-plant reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

Here is an edited version of his brief.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 37 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 55 degrees. The wind fluctuated from angling out of the south and southwest at 3 to 12 mph, and there were some 18-mph gusts from 9:53 a.m. to 11:53 a.m. The conditions of the sky ranged from being mostly cloudy to overcast to fair. The barometric pressure was 30.13 at 12:53 a.m., 30.07 at 5:53 a.m., 30.o6 at 11:53 a.m., and 29.98 at 2:53 p.m.

The water level looked to be normal. The surface temperature in the vicinity of the dam ranged from 50 to 51 degrees. The water exhibited about 30 inches of visibility.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 2:13 a.m. to 4:13 a.m., 2:37 p.m. to 4:37 p.m., and 8:25 a.m. to 10:25 a.m.

I was afloat from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

I fished along a steep shoreline, which is at the outside edge of the warm-water plume and along many yards of the riprap shorelines. I made a few casts on a submerged roadbed. These areas are situated in the lower half of this reservoir. It was a struggle to catch six largemouth bass and accidentally catch three channel catfish and 12 freshwater drum.

These fish were caught on either a Z-Man’s the deal TRD MinnowZ affixed to a red 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig or a Z-Man’s watermelon-red TRD BugZ affixed to a black 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig. They were employed with either a swim-glide-and-shake presentation or a swim-and-constant-shaking presentation.

This reservoir used to be one the most bountiful largemouth bass, crappie, and temperate bass waterways in northeastern Kansas. It was often lauded as the state's lunker heaven for largemouth bass. But during the past several years, it has become a surprisingly fruitless venue.

Mar. 2

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his Mar. 2 outing.

Here is an edited version of his log.

From noon to 4:00 p.m., I conducted a solo outing at what I consider to be the stingiest U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ hill-land reservoir in north-central Texas.

I have not visited this reservoir since October of 2023. When I arrived at the boat ramp parking lot at about 11:40 a.m., I discovered that it was almost full, and after launching my boat, I parked in the last available space.

This reservoir was bustling with scores and scores of people. It seemed more like a Memorial Day weekend. Pleasure boaters, jet skiers, windsurfers, and kayaks were everywhere I went. Several of the areas that I had planned to fish were already occupied by several other boat anglers.

According to In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar, the fishing was forecasted to be great. It also noted that the best fishing would occur from 3:13 a.m. to 5:13 a.m., 9:25 a.m. to 11:25 a.m., and 3:38 p.m. to 5:38 p.m.

Except for an annoying 20-mph wind coming from the south, Mar. 2 was a pleasant and sunny day. Area thermometers recorded the morning’s low temperature at 50 degrees, and the afternoon’s high reached 84 degrees. The barometric pressure measured 29.96 at noon, and it dropped to 29.84 by 4:00 p.m.

The water exhibited about 14 inches of visibility. The water temperature in the main-lake basin ranged from 53 degrees in its lower end to 55 degrees in its midsection. Inside five feeder-creek arms, the surface temperatures varied from 53 to 57 degrees. The water level was normal.

I spent these four hours fishing around and behind other boat anglers while dissecting portions of five feeder-creek arms in the middle and lower sections of the reservoir. I decided not to travel to the upper end of the impoundment in the robust wind and white-capping waves.

The underwater terrains inside these five feeder-creek arms are similar and consist of clay, sand, some silt, gravel, fist-size rocks, and sandstone boulders. There are patches of flooded buck brush and stickups that grace many sections of the shorelines inside these creek arms. There isn’t any aquatic vegetation.

The fishing was tough, and I failed to find any large aggregations of largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, and spotted bass that inhabit this reservoir. But I did manage to catch five largemouth bass that were scattered hither and yon inside two of the five feeder-creek arms.

Three largemouth bass were caught in the first feeder-creek arm, and two were caught in the second one. I failed to garner any strikes inside the other three creek arms. All of them were decent-sized ones. The largest one weighed three pounds and eight ounces. Three of them weighed between two pounds, three ounces and two pounds, 13 ounces. The smallest one weighed one pound, 14 ounces.

All of these largemouth bass were caught far apart from each other, and they were abiding near large submerged boulders on the steeper points in three to five feet of water. I positioned the boat in 12 to 17 feet of water.

I failed to garner any strikes from two bluff shorelines, four shallow clay-and-gravel flats, inside seven small coves, around several flat rock- and boulder-laden secondary points, and from the upper ends of the creek arms where small creeks and ditches enter the creek arms.

The only effective rig was a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pumpkin-chartreuse ZinkerZ matched with a black 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. It was employed with a slow swim-glide-and-shake retrieve.

In closing, spring is just around the corner. And with the unseasonably warm-weather trend, we are optimistic that the wretched black-bass fishing that has plagued us for the past three months may be coming to an end soon.

Mar. 4

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his Mar. 4 outing.

Here is an edited version of his log.

After my trying outing at a penurious U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ hill-land reservoir on Mar. 2, I elected to fish at a north-central Texas’ community reservoir, which I fished on Feb. 22 and caught 17 largemouth bass in three hours.

The sky conditions progressed from being overcast to partly cloudy to cloudless on Mar. 4. The afternoon’s high temperature climbed to 84 degrees, and the morning’s low was a mild 64 degrees. The wind quartered out of the south-by-southwest at 10 a.m., and its intensity increased to 20 mph by noon. The barometric pressure measured 29.84 at 10:00 a.m., and 29.72 at noon.

The water exhibited about two feet of visibility. The surface temperature was 61 degrees. The water level was normal.

This was a shorter outing than usual because of some other obligations I had to attend to, but I was able to fish from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and it was a joy to catch 21 largemouth bass. I also crossed paths with two large white crappie.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar listed the most lucrative fishing periods to occur from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m., 5:29 p.m. to 7:29 p.m., and 11:15 p.m. to 1:15 a.m. It also revealed a poor-fishing forecast.

The landscape surrounding this reservoir is flat and endowed with three bald cypress trees, a couple of large weeping willow trees, and several large silver-maple trees. Its submerged terrain consists of clay, small bits of gravel, and a few scattered coffee-table-size boulders. A couple of areas are graced with small patches of cypress tree knees. The submerged terrain is also embellished with several large patches of submerged baby pondweeds.

The upper end of this reservoir is shallow and flat. It is endowed with a large patch of baby pondweed growing near a small fishing pier. The shorelines in the midsection of the reservoir are enhanced with shallow ledges, some medium-size patches of baby pondweed, and several minor clay-and-gravel points. The lower end of the impoundment is also flat and shallow and bedecked with a large patch of baby pondweed and a small concrete water outlet.

Around the shallow patches of baby pondweed in the upper end of the reservoir, I failed to elicit a strike.

In the midsection of the impoundment, I caught 13 largemouth bass and two large white crappie in three to seven feet of water around two large patches of submerged pondweeds.

Six of these 13 bass and the two large white crappie were allured by a slow-swimming retrieve with a Z-Man’s watermelon-red-flake Finesse ShadZ matched with a chartreuse 1/16-ounce

Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. Five were allured by a slow-swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ affixed on a chartreuse 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. The other two largemouth bass were caught with a slow-paced swimming retrieve with a shortened four-inch Z-Man’s black-neon Finesse WormZ rigged on a red 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead.

Around the edges and across the top of a large patch of submerged baby pondweed that is situated in a large pocket in the lower end of the reservoir, I caught eight largemouth bass. This patch of pondweed is located about 15 feet from the water’s edge, and is encircled by three to five feet of water. Seven of them were enticed into striking the 2 1/2-inch green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ rig that was employed with a slow-swimming retrieve around the outer edges and over the top portion of the patch of pondweed. The other largemouth bass was coaxed into striking the watermelon-red-flake Finesse ShadZ rig as it was slowly and steadily retrieved over the top of the patch of pondweeds.

Mar. 5

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his outing with Steve Clark of Lawrence on Mar. 5 at an 85-year-old northeastern Kansas' community reservoir.

Here is an edited version of their log.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 35 degrees. The afternoon's high temperature was 61 degrees. The sky fluctuated from being fair to overcast to cluttered with a few clouds. The wind angled from the north at 6 to 17 mph with a few gusts that ranged from 22 to 24 mph. The barometric pressure was 29.93 at 12:53 a.m., 30.00 at 5:53 a.m., 30.06 at 11:53 a.m., and 30:02 at 2:53 p.m.

The water level looked to be about normal. The surface temperature ranged from 47 to 48 degrees. This reservoir was periodically bombarded with various kinds of algal blooms in 2023, and one was afflicting the water clarity during this outing, and our nine-foot push pole or Secchi stick revealed that the water exhibited 3 ½ to four feet of visibility. Many of this reservoir's shorelines and points are embellished with fantastic patches of winter-dead American water willows, and we crossed paths with a few wilted patches of Eurasian milfoil.

In-Fisherman's Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 5:50 a.m. to 7:50 a.m., 6:20 p.m. to 8:20 p.m., and 11:35 a.m. to 1:35 p.m.

We made our first casts at 10:26 a.m., and we made our last ones when we caught largemouth bass number 30 at 2:36 p.m. This was a bass fishing for rainbow trout outing, and besides catching 30 largemouth bass, we also caught eight rainbow trout, three freshwater drum, one bluegill, one walleye, and one wiper.

Thirteen of the 30 largemouth bass were caught on a Z-Man’s The Deal Finesse TRD affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. Another 13 were caught on a shortened Z-Man’s hot-snakes TRD TicklerZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. And four of the 30 were caught on a Z-Man’s yoga-pants Micro TRD affixed to a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead.

The yoga-pants Micro TRD is at the top. The hot-snakes TRD TicklerZ is in the middle. The Deal Finesse TRD is at the bottom.

We failed to elicit a strike along about a 75-yard stretch of the riprap shoreline of the dam. And we caught one bluegill along a 100-yard stretch of a shoreline and around a tertiary point inside a small feeder-creek arm in the upper half of the reservoir.

In the upper half of the reservoir, we caught three largemouth bass, one walleye, and one wiper around a main-lake point and a short section of its secondary shoreline. This area possesses a 35- to 60-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are occasionally endowed with some scanty patches of Eurasian milfoil. The water’s edge is graced with patches of winter-dead American water willows and several laydowns. One of the largemouth bass was caught on the Finesse TRD rig with a drag-and-slight-hop presentation in about five feet of water. Two of the largemouth bass were caught on the TRD TicklerZ rig with a drag-and-pause presentation in five to six feet of water.

Around three main-lake points and along about 250 yards of main-lake and secondary shorelines in the upper half of the reservoir, we caught seven largemouth bass, two rainbow trout, and two freshwater drum. This massive area possesses a 25- to 60-degree slope. The water’s edge is enhanced with patches of winter-dead American water willows, many laydowns, some piles of brush, a touch of riprap, and one dock. The underwater terrains of these locales consist of gravel, rocks, and boulders, and some of this terrain is enhanced with meager patches of Eurasian milfoil. Three of the seven largemouth bass were caught on the Finesse TRD rig with a drag-and-slight-hop presentation in five to seven feet of water. Four of the seven largemouth bass were caught on the TRD TicklerZ rig with a drag-pause-and-shake presentation in six to seven feet of water.

At the mouth of a large feeder-creek arm in the lower half of the reservoir, we caught two trout around a main-lake point, but failed to catch a largemouth bass around this point and along short portions of its main-lake and secondary shorelines.

At the mouth of a small feeder-creek arm in the lower half of the reservoir, we caught three largemouth bass, one rainbow trout, and one freshwater drum around a main-lake point and a short portion of its main-lake shoreline. This area possesses a 45-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are occasionally graced with some scanty patches of Eurasian milfoil. The water’s edge is lined with patches of water-dead American water willows and a few overhanging trees and terrestrial vegetation. One of the three largemouth bass was caught on the Finesse TRD rig with a dragging presentation in about seven feet of water. Two of the three largemouth bass were caught on the TRD TicklerZ rig; one was caught on the initial drop in about four feet of water in the vicinity of the overhanging terrestrial vegetation; the second one was caught on a drag-and-shake presentation in about seven feet of water.

Inside this small feeder-creek arm, we fished along about a 100-yard stretch of one shoreline and about a 70-yard stretch of another shoreline. These shorelines possess a 35- to 45-degree slope. Their underwater terrains consist of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are enhanced with a few minor patches of Eurasian milfoil. The water’s edges are lined with patches of winter-dead American water willows, one dock, a few overhanging trees, a couple laydowns, and some piles of brush. We failed to garner a strike along the 100-yard stretch of shoreline. But along the 75-yard stretch of shoreline, we caught eight largemouth bass and one rainbow trout. Five of the largemouth bass were caught in the vicinity of patches of Eurasian milfoil and two overhanging trees. Three of the eight were caught on the Finesse TRD rig with a drag-and-hop presentation in about five feet of water. Five were caught on the TRD TicklerZ rig; two were caught on the initial drop in about four feet of water; three were caught on a slow swim-and-pause presentation in about five feet of water.

Around one of the main-lake points at the mouth of the reservoir’s outlet channel, we caught one freshwater drum and one rainbow trout. We failed to elicit a strike around the outlet channel’s other main-lake point.

At the mouth of a major feeder-creek arm in the lower section of the reservoir, we caught two largemouth bass. This area possesses a riprap point, a concrete boat ramp, two docks, and a secondary point. It has a 25- to 40-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. The water’s edge is enhanced with patches of winter-dead American water willows, some laydowns, and several overhanging trees. Both of the largemouth bass were caught on the Micro TRD rig with a slow swim-glide-and-subtle-shake presentation in about six to seven feet of water.

About 150-yards inside this major feeder-creek arm, we caught seven largemouth bass and one rainbow trout along about a 125-yard stretch of a secondary shoreline and around three secondary points. This area possesses a 30- to 50-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. The water’s edge is endowed with patches of winter-dead American water willows, some laydowns, several overhanging trees and terrestrial brush, and a few piles of brush. Five of the seven largemouth bass were caught on the Finesse TRD rig with a drag-and-hop presentation in five to seven feet of water. Two of the largemouth bass were caught on the Micro TRD rig with a slow swim-glide-and-subtle-shake presentation in about six feet of water.

In sum, March is a windy time of the year in northeastern Kansas, and on this outing, the 22- to 24-mph gusts of wind confounded our abilities to make effective presentations with our Midwest finesse rigs at numerous locales. Nevertheless, we caught 44 fish in four hours and 10 minutes.

Mar. 5

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his Mar. 5 outing with John Thomas of Denton.

Here is an edited version of his log.

John and I journeyed to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ hill-land reservoir in north-central Texas. It is a different one than the Corps’ reservoir I fished on Mar. 2.

According to In-Fisherman's Solunar calendar, fishing would be poor on Mar. 5, but the prime fishing periods would most likely occur from 5:56 a.m. to 7:56 a.m., 11:41 a.m. to 1:41 p.m., and 6:26 p.m. to 8:26 p.m.

The morning’s low temperature was 54 degrees. The afternoon’s high temperature reached 79 degrees. The wind quartered out of the north-by-northeast at 10 to 15 mph. The barometric pressure measured 29.86 at 9:00 a.m. and dropped to 29.82 by 3:00 p.m. The sky conditions varied from clear to partly cloudy to mostly cloudy.

The reservoir’s water level was at full capacity. The water exhibited between 18 and 30 inches of clarity. The surface temperature ranged from 52 to 57 degrees.

This reservoir’s underwater terrain consists primarily of red clay, pea-size gravel, rocks of all shapes and sizes, and quite a number of large boulders. At the north end of the reservoir, there are many acres of thick stands of flooded timber, laydowns, stumps, brush piles, and buck brush, and we usually avoid this area because it is such a headache to navigate in a boat.

The reservoir was pretty busy, and we shared several areas with other kayak, pontoon, and bass boat anglers. The weather was wonderful, and the fishing was fairly good. We fished from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and we hooked 14 largemouth bass and landed 13 of them. We also caught three freshwater drum by accident. This is the most fruitful outing we have had at a federal or state impoundment this year.

This reservoir encompasses two large tributary arms. We fished inside three feeder-creek arms: two are located in the lower section of the west tributary arm, and the other one is situated in the lower portion of the east tributary arm.

The first creek arm, which is situated on the south side of the west tributary, yielded nine of the 13 largemouth bass. The second creek arm, which is located on the north side of the west tributary arm, relinquished three largemouth bass, and the third creek arm, which is situated on the east side of the east tributary arm, yielded one largemouth bass and one strike.

These 13 largemouth bass were caught in nine to 11 feet of water around rock- and boulder-laden shorelines in the lower sections of the three creek arms. Steeper shorelines were more productive than flatter ones.

Nine largemouth bass and the three freshwater drum were allured by a Z-Man’s watermelon-red Finesse ShadZ matched with a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead, and four were caught on a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pumpkin-chartreuse ZinkerZ rigged on a black 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead.

The only effective presentation was a slow swim-glide-and-shake retrieve.

In conclusion, it appears that the black-bass fishing in north-central Texas is beginning to pick up a bit. In contrast, I fished this reservoir on Feb. 19. The water temperature was in the upper-40s, and I struggled to catch one largemouth bass and one spotted bass in four hours.

Mar. 6

Bob Gum of Kansas City, Kansas, and Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a brief on the Finesse News Network about their trying outing at an 82-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 33 degrees. The afternoon’s high temperature was 61 degrees. The condition of the sky was fair. The wind was angling out of the north, northeast, east, and south at 3 to 18 mph; at times there were wind gusts that ranged from 22 to 26 mph. The barometric pressure was 30.05 at 12:53 a.m., 30.04 at 5:53 a.m., 30.02 at 11:53 a.m., and 29.97 at 1:53 p.m.

The water level looked to be a tad above normal. The surface temperature ranged from 47 to 48 degrees. The water was afflicted by an algae bloom. The water exhibited from about three to 4 ½ feet of visibility.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would occur from 6:42 a.m. to 8:42 a.m., 7:12 p.m. to 9:12 p.m., and 12.26 a.m. to 2:26 a.m.

We made our first casts at 10:46 a.m. and the last ones at 1:59 p.m. During this three-hour and 13-minute ordeal, we struggled to catch 13 largemouth bass and accidentally catch three rainbow trout and one white bass.

One of the largemouth bass was caught on a Z-Man’s coppertreuse TRD TicklerZ affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. Two were caught on a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD HogZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. Three were caught on a Z-Man’s Canada-craw TRD TicklerZ affixed to a red 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig. Five were caught on a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD HogZ affixed to a black 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig. These largemouth bass were caught in six to seven feet of water. All but one were in the vicinity of a wilted patch of coontail or a wad of filamentous algae. They were caught on three types of retrieves: an extremely slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation, a drag-and-short-pause presentation, and a drag-and-shake presentation.

One of our TRD HogZ rigs.

We fished along many yards of main-lake and secondary shorelines, across and around several shallow-water flats, and around several secondary and main-lake points without eliciting a strike.

Along a steep and boulder-laden section of a shoreline in the back of a large feeder-creek arm, we tangled with one largemouth bass that engulfed one of our TRD HogZ rigs with a drag-and-shake presentation in about seven feet of water. And around a windblow main-lake point at the mouth of this large-feeder-creek arm, we caught a largemouth bass on one of our TRD HogZ rigs as we were strolling and employing a drag-and-shake presentation in nine to 10 feet of water.

Upon arriving home, we learned that the largemouth bass fishing was a chore at two other community reservoirs in northeastern Kansas on Mar. 6. For example, Pok-Chi Lau of Lawrence reported that he and a friend struggled for several hours to catch two largemouth bass, two smallmouth bass, and two rainbow trout at an 85-year-old community reservoir, where they were bass fishing for rainbow trout. Likewise, Steve Clark of Lawrence texted us and noted that it was a windy battle to catch two largemouth bass at another 85-year-old community reservoir.

History reveals that the lack of significant patches of submerged aquatic vegetation in our community reservoirs adversely affects the largemouth bass fishing when the water temperatures in our reservoirs are in the 40s. Thus, we continue to hope that the managers of these reservoirs will begin to work on cultivating and manually maintaining significant patches of coontail and other kinds of submerged aquatic vegetation rather than killing these patches with aquatic herbicides or grass carp.

Mar. 7

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his Mar. 7 outing.

Here is an edited version of his log.

The weather in north-central Texas was mild and wet on March 7. The nighttime low was 60 degrees, and the daytime high was 66 degrees. Several rounds of thunderstorms with lightning rolled across north-central Texas at around 3:30 a.m., and the storms continued off and on throughout the day. Besides the lightning, the storms were also accompanied by a 10- to 15-mph wind that quartered out of the south-by-southeast. The barometric pressure measured 29.80 at 11:00 a.m., and fell to 29.77 by 2:00 p.m.

During the later part of the morning and early afternoon hours, there was about a 2 1/2-hour break between thunderstorms that lasted from around 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. I decided to take advantage of this brief break in the rain, and made a beeline to a nearby community reservoir in north-central Texas.

According to In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar, fishing was predicted to be tough on Mar. 7. The calendar also noted that the optimum fishing periods would take place from 1:30 a.m. to 3:30 a.m., 7:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m., and 8:15 p.m. to 10:15 p.m.

The water was murkier than usual with eight to 10 inches of visibility. I was surprised to discover that the water temperature was 66 degrees, which was much warmer than I expected. The water level was about a foot high from the recent rain, and a steady stream of water was flowing over the top of a concrete spillway that is situated next to a decorative rock dam on the lower end of this impoundment.

I started fishing around the rock dam and concrete spillway. The bottom terrain along the base of the dam is covered with softball-size rocks, some clay, and some small gravel. I slowly dissected this area with several of Z-Man’s Midwest finesse offerings, but I failed to garner any strikes.

Along the east shoreline in the middle section of the reservoir, I caught six largemouth bass and two large bluegill. This shoreline has a 15- to 25-degree slope. It is endowed with two primary points, three tertiary points, and a shallow gravel-and-clay ledge. These six largemouth bass were caught in four to six feet of water and about 15 to 20 feet from the deep-water side of the ledge. Three of them were caught with a slow-paced swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. Two were caught on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation with a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin-orange TRD TicklerZ matched with a chartreuse 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. And the sixth largemouth bass was inveigled by a Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse ShadZ fastened to a chartreuse 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. This combo was also employed with a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation.

Across a shallow mud flat that occupies most of the upper end of this reservoir, I caught only one large bluegill that was extracted from three feet of water and about 10 feet from the water’s edge. It was caught on the Junebug Finesse ShadZ rig and a slow-swimming retrieve.

In the lower section of a small feeder creek that enters this reservoir at one side of the mud flat that I just fished, I caught two largemouth bass in three to five feet of water. They were attracted to the Junebug Finesse ShadZ rig and a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation.

The west shoreline in the midsection of the reservoir relinquished four more largemouth bass. This shoreline features three medium-sized patches of winter-dead water lilies that are beginning to sprout new stems, a shallow 30-yard-long clay-and-gravel ledge, two primary points, and three tertiary points. These four bass were abiding in three to five feet of water next to the deep-water side of the shallow gravel-and-clay ledge. Two of them engulfed the 2 1/2-inch green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ; one engulfed the Slim SwimZ on the initial fall, and the other one was enticed by a slow-paced swimming retrieve. The other two bass were caught on a slow swim-glide-and-shake retrieve with the Junebug Finesse ShadZ combo.

I was hoping the break between storms would allow me to fish for about three to four hours. I made my first cast at 11:30 a.m., but another round of thunderstorms and lightning began to erupt at around 1:30 p.m., and the rain and lightning sent me scurrying to my truck for cover. I waited about 20 minutes to see if the storm would either subside or move out of the area, and when the rain turned into a torrential downpour, I decided to call it a day and drove home.

In a nutshell, I caught 12 largemouth bass and three large bluegill in 120 minutes. Five largemouth bass were allured by the 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ affixed on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. Another five largemouth bass engulfed the Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse ShadZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead, including the largest bass of the outing that weighed three pounds, eight ounces. And the other two largemouth bass were caught on a chartreuse 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead adorned with a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin-orange TRD TicklerZ.

Mar. 10

Ned and Pat Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about their Mar. 10 outing at an 85-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 21 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 65 degrees. The wind was calm for four early morning hours, and then it angled out of the northwest, east, south, southeast, and southwest at 3 to 13 mph, and there were a few gusts of wind that ranged from 17 to 22 mph. The sky was fair. The barometric pressure was 30.17 at 12:52 a.m., 30.18 at 5:52 a.m., 30.22 at 11:52 a.m., and 30.14 at 3:52 p.m.

The water level looked to be about two feet below normal. The surface temperature ranged from 49 to 51 degrees. The water exhibited an algae bloom, and our nine-foot dipstick revealed that there was about two to 3 ½ feet of visibility. There were scores of anglers afloat; one of the parking lots was jammed packed.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 11:39 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m., and 5:26 p.m. to 7:26 p.m.

We made our first casts at 1:50 p.m., and our last ones were made at 4:00 p.m. During this 130-minute outing, we fished along portions of five shorelines inside three feeder-creek arms, and we caught 18 largemouth bass.

Seven of the 18 were caught on a shortened Z-Man’s Junebug TRD TicklerZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. Eleven were caught on a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD HogZ affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig.

The first three largemouth bass were caught along about a 275-yard section of a shoreline in the back third of this reservoir’s primary feeder creek. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. This shoreline possesses a 25- to 60-degree slope. It is lined with occasional winter-dead and partially submerged patches of American water willows, a few laydowns, several piles of brush, and 13 docks. The Junebug TRD TicklerZ rig inveigled these largemouth bass. One was on the initial drop in about four feet of water. The other two were caught on back-to-back casts with an extremely slow swim-and-pause presentation in four to five feet of water.

The next 12 were caught along two shorelines in the back third of a large feeder-creek arm in the lower end of the reservoir.

Nine were caught along about a 250-yard section of one of the shorelines. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. Some of the boulders are humongous, and there are several significant piles of them. This shoreline possesses a 25- to 45-degree slope. It is lined with winter-dead and partially submerged patches of American water willows, one tertiary point, some stumps, a few laydowns, several piles of brush, one boat ramp, and one dock. These nine largemouth bass were caught along about a 30-yard stretch of this 250-yard shoreline. Four were caught on the TRD TicklerZ rig. Five were caught on the TRD HogZ rig. Two were caught on the initial drop of our rigs; two were caught on an extremely slow swim-and-pause presentation in about five feet of water; five were caught on a drag-and-pause presentation in five to six feet of water.

We caught three largemouth bass along about a 75-yard stretch of the other shoreline inside this feeder-creek arm. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. It possesses a 25- to 45-degree slope. It is adorned with some winter-dead and partially submerged patches of American water willows, two tertiary points, several overhanging trees, and a few piles of brush. Around one of the tertiary points, we caught one of the three largemouth bass on the initial drop of the TRD HogZ rig in about three feet of water. The other two were caught in the vicinity of a pile of brush on the TRD HogZ rig with a drag-and-pause presentation in four to five feet of water.

We caught three largemouth bass two-thirds of the way inside a small feeder-creek arm in the lower portion of the reservoir. We caught two of the three along about a 50-yard stretch of a shoreline that possesses a 35-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel and rocks. The water’s edge is embellished with winter-dead and partially submerged patches of American water willows, three overhanging trees, and a few meager piles of brush. Both were caught on the TRD HogZ rig with a drag-and-pause presentation in about five feet of water. We caught the third largemouth bass around a tertiary point along this feeder-creek’s other shoreline. This point has a 30-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel and rocks. Its water’s edge is endowed with winter-dead and partially submerged patches of American water willows. The initial drop of the TRD HogZ rig caught this largemouth bass in about three feet of water.

In sum, we caught an average of slightly more than eight largemouth bass an hour. None of them would have impressed a tournament angler or the host of a fishing show. But for a pair of geriatric Midwest finesse anglers, who are one year younger than this 85-year-old reservoir, it was a fairly fruitful and delightful two hours and 10 minutes of fishing in early March – especially after a significant cold front and an array of blustery winds had battered this waterway for hours on end on Mar. 8 and 9. Mother Nature’s windy ways have been on display quite frequently during the past few weeks, which has handicapped and kept geriatric anglers like us at bay. What’s more, her windy ways are predicted to waylay us again during the next five days.

Mar. 12

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his Mar. 12 outing with Norman Brown of Lewisville, Texas.

Here is an edited version of his log.

The sky conditions fluctuated from partly cloudy to mostly cloudy on Mar. 12. The morning’s low temperature was 51 degrees. The afternoon’s high temperature climbed to 77 degrees. A southerly wind blew incessantly at 15 to 25 mph. The barometric pressure dropped from 30.01 at 9:00 a.m. to 29.84 by 2:00 p.m.

Norman joined me for a bank-walking excursion at two community reservoirs located in north-central Texas.

According to In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar, the fishing was forecast to be poor, and the most optimum fishing periods would take place from 1:42 a.m. to 3:42 a.m., 7:56 a.m. to 9:56 a.m., and 2:09 p.m. to 4:09 p.m.

At the first community reservoir, we fished from 9:40 a.m. to 11:40 a.m., and the fishing was way above average; we relished catching 28 largemouth bass.

The water temperature was 60 degrees. The water level was normal. The water exhibited about 12 inches of visibility.

This reservoir’s underwater terrain consists of mostly gravel and sand. A shallow sand-and-gravel ledge extends about five feet from the water’s edge along the north and west shorelines, and this ledge was blanketed with a thick wall of baby pondweeds that formed a mat across the surface of the water that was six to 10 feet wide. The north and west shorelines possess 30- to 45-degree inclines. The south and east shorelines are flatter with 10- to 15-degree inclines. There weren’t any patches of baby pondweed along the south and east shorelines, but their water’s edges are adorned with many bald cypress trees, partially submerged bald cypress tree knees and roots, some scattered twigs and small branches, and scores of dead leaves. We also observed three largemouth bass nests near the south shoreline that had been neatly cleared of any wood and leaf debris. These nests are the first signs of any spring-spawning activity that we have seen so far this year, but we didn’t see any bass around them during this outing.

We started this outing at the upper end of this impoundment, and during the next two hours, we caught 28 largemouth bass.

Eleven of the 28 bass were caught in five to seven feet of water, about 20 to 30 feet from the water’s edge, and on the deep-water side of the long and thick wall of baby pondweeds that covers two shallow-water ledges that parallel the north and west shorelines from the upper end to the middle section of the reservoir. Seven of the 11 largemouth bass engulfed a 3 1/4-inch Z-Man’s black-neon Finesse WormZ, which was trimmed down from its original 4.75-inch size, and rigged on a red 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. This combo was employed with a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation. Two largemouth bass were tricked by a swimming retrieve with a Z-Man’s coppertreuse Finesse TRD affixed on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig. One largemouth bass was caught on a slow-swimming presentation with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ affixed on a chartreuse 3/32-ounce Z-man’s OG Mushroom Jighead, and the eleventh bass was enticed by a slow-swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ fastened on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce mushroom-type jig.

In the lower section of the reservoir, we caught eight largemouth bass around the submerged bald-cypress tree knees and scattered wood debris in four to six feet of water and about five to 15 feet from the water’s edge. Six of them were fooled by the 3 1/4-inch black-neon Finesse WormZ and a slow swim-glide-and-shake retrieve. The other two were coaxed into striking the 2 1/2-inch green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ rig that was steadily retrieved near several clusters of submerged cypress-tree knees and wads of submerged cypress-tree roots in four feet of water and about seven feet from the water’s edge.

In the midsection of the impoundment, nine largemouth bass were caught around clusters of partially submerged cypress-tree knees and wads of roots in two to four feet of water across the south shoreline. Eight of them were allured by a swim-glide-and-shake retrieve with the 3 1/4-inch black-neon Finesse WormZ rig, and the ninth one was enticed by a swimming retrieve with the 2 1/2-inch pearl Slim SwimZ combo.

After we finished fishing the first reservoir, we decided to take about an hour lunch break before moving on to the second community reservoir.

At the second community reservoir, we fished a small portion of its upper and middle sections from about 1:00 p.m. to 1:38 p.m., then we opted to end our outing early when Norman began to feel ill. But during these 38 minutes, we caught six more largemouth bass.

The water level was at its normal level. The water temperature was 61 degrees. The water displayed a tannic-brown color with about 14 inches of visibility.

We caught these six largemouth bass along a 35-yard section of shoreline in the middle section of the impoundment. This section of shoreline has a 10- to 15-degree slope. It encompasses a couple of minor points, a shallow sand-and-gravel ledge that protrudes about three to five feet from the water’s edge, and several large patches of submerged baby pondweeds.

Three of these largemouth bass were caught on a swimming retrieve with the 2 1/2-inch green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ rig that we employed at the first community reservoir that we fished. The other three largemouth bass were fooled by a slow-swimming retrieve with a Z-Man’s watermelon-red Finesse ShadZ matched with a chartreuse 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead.

We also dissected a huge mat of submerged baby pondweed in the upper end of the impoundment, but we failed to elicit any strikes around or over the top of it.

In closing, we caught a total of 34 largemouth bass. Twenty-eight were caught from the first community reservoir, and six were caught from the second one during this two-hour and 38-minute endeavor. This calculates to a catch rate of 13 bass per hour, which is considered stellar fishing in this part of Texas in mid-March.

The most effective lure was the 3 1/4-inch Z-Man’s black-neon Finesse WormZ rigged on a red 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead.

The most effective presentation was a slow swim-glide-and-shake retrieve.

Mar. 12

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a brief on the Finesse News Network about his Mar. 12 outing at an 86-year-old and heavily fished community reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

Here is an edited version of his brief.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 51 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 73 degrees. The normal high temperature is 56 degrees and the normal low temperature is 31 degrees. The wind angled out of the south and southwest at 3 to 17 mph, and from 8:53 a.m. to 8:53 p.m., the wind gusts howled from 21 to 29 mph. The sky was fair. The barometric pressure was 20.95 at 12:53 a.m., 29.90 at 5:53 a.m., 29.81 at 11:53 a.m., and 29.70 at 3:53 p.m.

The water level at this reservoir looked to be a touch above normal. The surface temperature ranged from 50 to 52 degrees. According to my nine-foot dipstick, the water exhibited about 5 1/2 feet of visibility in the vicinity of the dam and 4 1/2 feet of visibility across the shallow-water flats and along the shorelines in the upper half of the reservoir.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 12:37 a.m. to 2:37 a.m., 1:01 p.m. to 3:01 p.m., and 6:48 a.m. to 8:48 a.m.

I made my first cast at 1:18 p.m. and my last one at 3:52 p.m.

Even though this March has been significantly warmer than normal in northeastern Kansas and

northwestern Missouri, the largemouth bass fishing has been perplexing and difficult. Moreover, March is normally a windy time of the year, but according to my 83-year-old and deteriorating memory, it seems to be windier than normal, and all of this wind seems to have adversely affected my geriatric abilities to inveigle a significant number of largemouth bass. For example, it was a struggle to catch 14 largemouth bass on this two-hour and 32-minute outing. What’s more, I was not the only angler to experience difficulties: a friend who is a forward-facing-sonar wizard struggled to catch four largemouth bass from 4:00 p.m. to sundown at another northeastern Kansas community reservoir. And another friend who is a veteran and savvy finesse angler worked hard to catch a dozen largemouth bass at a community reservoir in northwestern Missouri. Both of these anglers say they are puzzled by the trying largemouth bass fishing that we are experiencing.

During my outing, I spent the first two hours fishing along portions of three shorelines in the upper half of this reservoir.

Along a short segment of a main-lake shoreline, I battled the wind and caught four largemouth bass. The entire shoreline is about 200 yards long. It possesses a 30- to 55-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are endowed with several manmade piles of brush. The water’s edge is lined with 11 docks, three points, one minor laydown, one large concrete retaining wall, and a few patches of winter-dead American water willows. These bass were caught between two docks, which are about 50 or 60 feet apart. They were caught on a shortened Z-Man’s hot-snakes TRD TicklerZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead with a very slow swim-and-pause presentation in six to eight feet of water. Two of them were caught on back-to-back casts.

It was another wind-blown ordeal along about a 350-yard stretch of another shoreline in the upper half of this reservoir, where I caught four more largemouth bass. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, and a tad of silt. The shoreline possesses a 20- to 60-degree slope. Its water’s edge is endowed with 10 docks, one small rock bridge, a few piles of brush, long stretches of concrete retaining walls, one concrete and rock jetty, some riprap, and occasional patches of winter-dead American water willows. Two of the four largemouth bass were caught between two of the docks on a Z-Man’s Drew’s-craw TRD TicklerZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead with a very slow swim-and-pause presentation in five to six feet of water. The initial drop of the Drew's-craw TRD TicklerZ in about three feet of water caught a largemouth bass at a tertiary point adjacent to the small rock bridge. A Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD HogZ affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig with a slow swim-glide-and-subtle-snake presentation caught the fourth largemouth bass in four to five feet of water in the vicinity of the concrete and rock jetty.

Along about a 250-yard stretch of a shoreline, I somehow eked out four largemouth bass. This shoreline possesses a 25- to 50-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders; this terrain is occasionally enhanced with some manmade piles of brush. The water’s edge is lined with several concrete retaining walls, some rock retaining walls, 17 docks, two significant laydowns, various piles of shallow-water brush, and a few patches of winter-dead American water willows.

Three of these largemouth bass were caught on the TRD HogZ rig with a slow swim-and-pause retrieve in four to seven feet of water around several piles of rocks and boulders adjacent to two docks. The fourth one was caught on the Drew’s-craw TRD TicklerZ rig with a slow swim-and-pause presentation in about seven feet of water next to a dock.

I spent the last 30 minutes of this outing in the lower half of this reservoir, where I fished along a 100-foot segment of a secondary shoreline inside a small feeder-creek arm, along a 75-yard stretch of a main-lake shoreline, and battled the wind along about a 150-yard stretch of the dam’s riprap shoreline. I failed to elicit a strike at these locales.

Mar. 14

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his outing on Mar. 14 at an 85-year-old northeastern Kansas' community reservoir.

Here is an edited version of his log.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 55 degrees. The afternoon's high temperature was 65 degrees. The sky fluctuated from being mostly cloudy to partly cloudy to overcast. The wind angled from the east, southwest, north, northeast, and northwest at 5 to 13 mph with a couple of gusts that ranged from 20 to 21 mph. The barometric pressure was 29.59 at 12:53 a.m., 29.66 at 5:53 a.m., 29.82 at 11:53 a.m., and 29.83 at 2:53 p.m.

The water level looked to be a few inches above normal. The surface temperature ranged from 51 to 53 degrees. The water clarity was afflicted with a minor algae bloom, and my nine-foot push pole or Secchi stick revealed that the water exhibited three to 4 ½ feet of visibility. Many of this reservoir's shorelines and points are embellished with fantastic patches of winter-dead American water willows, and I fished around several burgeoning patches of Eurasian milfoil.

In-Fisherman's Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 2:37 a.m. to 4:37 a.m., 3:04 p.m. to 5:04 p.m., and 8:50 a.m. to 10:50 a.m.

I made my first cast at 10:51 a.m. and my last one at 2:51 p.m. And I caught 33 largemouth bass, one smallmouth bass, and accidentally caught two rainbow trout, one freshwater drum, and one flathead catfish.

Thirty of the 38 fish were caught on a shortened Z-Man’s The Deal TRD TicklerZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. Two were caught on a 3 1/4-inch Z-Man’s black-neon Finesse WormZ rigged on a red 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead.

In the upper half of the reservoir, I caught 13 largemouth bass around a main-lake point and along a short section of its secondary shoreline and main-lake shoreline. This area possesses a 35- to 60-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are occasionally endowed with some patches of Eurasian milfoil. The water’s edge is graced with patches of winter-dead American water willows and several laydowns. One of the 13 largemouth bass was caught on the Finesse WormZ rig with a drag-and-pause presentation in about six feet of water adjacent to the patches of American water willows. Twelve were caught on the TRD TicklerZ rig; three were caught on the initial drop in three to four feet of water; the other nine were caught on a drag-and-subtle-shake presentation in four to seven feet of water; two of these nine were caught in the vicinity of a laydown; some were caught near the patches of winter-dead American water willows and some were caught around some patches of Eurasian milfoil.

Along a 150-yard stretch of a main-lake shoreline in the upper half of the reservoir, I caught two largemouth bass. This area possesses a 45- to 90-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are occasionally endowed with some patches of Eurasian milfoil. The water’s edge is decorated with occasional patches of winter-dead American water willows, spots of overhanging terrestrial vegetation, and several laydowns. Around a tertiary point that is embellished with a large concrete buttress for a dock and patches of Eurasian milfoil, I caught one largemouth bass on the TRD TicklerZ rig with a swim-and-pause presentation in about five feet of water. The second largemouth bass was caught on the TRD TicklerZ rig in the vicinity of a laydown with a drag-and-pause presentation in about six feet of water.

I caught one largemouth bass around a flat main-lake point in the upper half of the reservoir. This point possesses about a 30-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders; several of the boulders are mammoth. This terrain is enhanced with some patches of Eurasian milfoil. The water’s edge is decorated with patches of winter-dead American water willows. The TRD TicklerZ rig with a swim-and-pause presentation inveigled this largemouth bass in about four feet of water around some sprouts of Eurasian milfoil.

Around three main-lake points and along several sections of a main-lake shoreline in the upper half of the reservoir, I caught five largemouth bass. This area possesses a 25- to 60-degree slope. The water’s edge is enhanced with patches of winter-dead American water willows, many laydowns, some piles of brush, and a touch of riprap. The underwater terrains consist of gravel, rocks, and boulders, and some of this terrain is enhanced with meager patches of Eurasian milfoil. The points were fruitless. Three of the five largemouth bass were caught along about a 90-foot stretch of a major bend of the main-lake shoreline that is enhanced with one major and a few small laydowns, thick patches of winter-dead American water willows, and patches of Eurasian milfoil. One was caught on the initial drop of the TRD TicklerZ rig along the outside edge of a patch of winter-dead American water willows in about three feet of water. The other two were caught on the TRD TicklerZ rig with a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation around patches of Eurasian milfoil in about four to five feet of water. The fourth largemouth bass was caught along a short stretch of the shoreline immediately adjacent to one of the points; it was caught as I was strolling with the wind and dragging and shaking the TRD TicklerZ rig a few feet from the outside edges of the patches of American water willows and around some sprigs of Eurasian milfoil in four to five feet of water. The fifth largemouth bass was caught on a wind-blown shoreline adjacent to one of the three points; it was caught around some boulders and sprigs of Eurasian milfoil in about six feet of water on the TRD TicklerZ rig as I was using a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation.

About 50 yards inside a large feeder-creek arm in the lower half of the reservoir, I fished along a 100-yard stretch of a secondary shoreline. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are sporadically enhanced with patches of Eurasian milfoil. The water’s edge is embellished with thick patches of winter-dead American water willows and many laydowns. I caught five largemouth bass along this shoreline. Three were caught between two very old laydowns and around sprouts of Eurasian milfoil on the TRD TicklerZ rig with a swim-glide-and-subtle-shake presentation in about five feet of water. The other two were caught on the initial drop of the TRD TicklerZ rig in about four feet of water.

In the lower half of the reservoir, I spent a few minutes at an offshore locale, where I battled the wind and struggled to fish a massive submerged boulder and rock fence. As I was strolling with the TRD TicklerZ rig with a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation, I somehow caught one largemouth bass in five to six feet of water.

At the mouth of a major feeder-creek arm in the lower section of the reservoir, I caught one largemouth bass. This area possesses a riprap point, a concrete boat ramp, two docks, and a secondary point. It has a 25- to 40-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, and some burgeoning patches of Eurasian milfoil are enhancing this terrain. The water’s edge is enhanced with patches of winter-dead American water willows, some laydowns, and several overhanging trees. This largemouth bass was caught on the TRD TicklerZ rig with a drag-and-shake presentation in about six to seven feet of water many feet from the water's edge.

About 20 percent of the way inside this major feeder-creek arm, I fished along a 125-yard stretch of a secondary shoreline and around three secondary points. This area possesses a 30- to 50-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are becoming decorated with a few patches of Eurasian milfoil. Some of the boulders are humongous. The water’s edge is endowed with patches of winter-dead American water willows, some laydowns, several overhanging trees and terrestrial brush, and a few piles of brush. Around one point and a patch of Eurasian milfoil, I caught a largemouth bass on the TRD TicklerZ rig with a drag-and-shake presentation in about five feet of water. Around several of the humongous boulders, I caught my first smallmouth bass of 2024 as I employed a drag-and-shake presentation with the TRD TicklerZ rig in six to seven feet of water.

About 80 percent of the way inside this major feeder-creek arm, I quickly fished around a tertiary point, where I caught a largemouth bass on the initial drop of the Finesse WormZ rig in about four feet of water and under an overhanging tree. The underwater terrain of this spot consists of gravel, rocks, and some silt, which is quilted with a few patches of Eurasian milfoil. This area is shallow and relatively flat, but the terrestrial terrain has a 70-degree slope. The water’s edge is lined with some overhanging terrestrial vegetation, some patches of winter-dead American water willows, some small laydowns, and one mega laydown.

Inside a small feeder-creek arm in the lower half of this reservoir, I fished along about a 40-yard stretch of one shoreline and a 20-yard stretch of another shoreline. These shorelines possess a 35- to 45-degree slope. Their underwater terrains consist of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are enhanced with a few patches of Eurasian milfoil. The water’s edges are lined with patches of winter-dead American water willows, a few overhanging trees, a couple laydowns, and some piles of brush. Along the 40-yard stretch, I caught one largemouth bass on the initial drop of the TRD TicklerZ rig under several overhanging trees in about four feet of water. Along the 20-yard stretch, I caught one largemouth bass, which was black bass number 34, and it was caught around some meager patches of Eurasian milfoil in about six feet of water with a slow swim-and-pause retrieve many feet from the water's edge.

In sum, I tangled with an average of 8.5 black bass per hour, which is a fair-to-middling outing in northeastern Kansas in March, where some of the redbud trees are already blooming and a few people are cutting grass. And it was delightful to catch this year's first smallmouth bass and flathead catfish.

Mar. 14

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his Mar. 14 outing.

Here is an edited version of his log.

The weather in north-central Texas has been more like spring than winter. Daytime temperatures have varied from 59 degrees with some light rain and blustery winds for a day or two followed by several days of sun and more moderate temperatures that ranged from the mid-70s to the low 80s.

March 14 was a warm spring-like day. It was 67 degrees at 6:00 a.m. and 78 degrees at 3:00 p.m. A robust wind blew continuously out of the south at 15 to 22 mph, and at times it caused havoc with my casts and retrieves. The sky conditions changed from overcast to mostly cloudy with occasional short spells of sunshine. The barometric pressure measured 30.07 at 9:00 a.m. and 30.06 at 3:00 p.m. Heavy thunderstorms, possibly accompanied by large hail, was forecast to arrive in north-central Texas around 4:00 p.m.

With the dismal weather forecast, I decided to conducted a five-hour bank-walking excursion at one of the larger community reservoirs that lie on the north side of the Dallas metropolitan area instead of making a risky boat excursion at a nearby U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ reservoir or a state reservoir.

I fished from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

The water exhibited about 14 inches of clarity. The water temperature measured 66 degrees. The water level was normal.

The upper or northern end of this impoundment encompasses a large and shallow mudflat. A small ditch courses its way across the lower end of this flat. Thick patches of tall cattails line most of the shoreline, and a wood walkway adorns a goodly portion of the water’s edge, and several yards of it extends 10 to 15 feet over the water as it parallels the shoreline. This walkway allows anglers to get within casting range of the outside edges of some of the patches of cattails that are inaccessible from the shoreline.

I also observed numerous pairs of Canadian geese, mallard ducks, and a pair of majestic swans slowly meandering around a small portion of this area, and some of them were beginning to nest. I was able to fish most of this area while staying many yards away from the waterfowl nesting area.

While casting from the wood walkway around the outside edges of several patches of cattails, I caught three largemouth bass in about three feet of water. They engulfed a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s space-guppy Slim SwimZ rigged on a chartreuse 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead as I was steadily retrieving it parallel to the patches of cattails. One of them, which weighed 2 1/4 pounds, was caught on my first cast.

Along the west-side shoreline in the middle section of the reservoir, I dissected a shallow ditch, a couple of shallow sand-and-gravel ledges that parallel a flat portion of this shoreline, and a steeper 35-yard section of the shoreline that possesses a 25- to 30-degree slope in the vicinity of a fishing pier, and I caught 11 largemouth bass.

I caught three of these 11 largemouth bass in four to six feet of water around the edges of the ditch. Four of the 11 were abiding along the deep-water side of the two shallow sand-and-gravel ledges. The other four were relating to the steeper section of the shoreline near the fishing pier. Seven of them were caught on a steady-swimming retrieve with the 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s space-guppy Slim SwimZ rig, and the other four were beguiled by a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation with a Z-Man’s purple-death TRD TicklerZ affixed on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead.

Along the east shoreline in the midsection of this reservoir, I probed the sides of a flat, clay, and gravel point and another shallow-water ditch adjacent to the shallow, clay, and gravel point, portions of a long and shallow gravel and clay ledge, and the sides and tip of a prominent steep, clay, and gravel point, and I caught six largemouth bass and one turtle.

Two of these five largemouth bass were extracted from five feet of water and 20 to 25 feet from the water’s edge near one side of the shallow ditch on a steady-swimming retrieve with the 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s space-guppy Slim SwimZ combo. Two largemouth bass were caught on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation with a Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse ShadZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead around the sides of the steeper and more prominent point. They were abiding about 20 to 25 feet from the water’s edge. And the other two largemouth bass were caught in three to five feet of water near the deep-water side of the shallow, clay, and gravel ledge on a slow swimming retrieve with the 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s space-guppy Slim SwimZ rig.

In the lower end of the impoundment, I dissected the area around a concrete dam, which is about 65-yards long and forms the southern perimeter of the reservoir, and I caught three largemouth bass. They were scattered in four to six feet of water and about 15 to 25 feet from the face of the dam. They were fooled by a slow swim-glide-and-shake retrieve with the purple-death TRD TicklerZ combo.

Overall, this was an above-average late-winter outing. With the water temperature at 66 degrees, I enjoyed catching 23 largemouth bass and none of them were dinks. Their strikes were quite aggressive. The largest one weighed 3-pounds and two-ounces; five of them weighed between two-pounds and two-ounces and two-pounds and 11-ounces, and the others measured between 12 and 14 1/2 inches; I didn’t weight them. And as I was fishing, I kept my eye out for any spawning bass, but I didn’t see any signs of spawning activity around the shallow, sand, and gravel ledges, along the two clay and gravel points, or anywhere on the large mud flat.

March 15

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his Mar. 14 outing with Todd Judy of Denton, and his grandson Michael Carrasco of Johnstown, Colorado.

Here is an edited version of his log.

After I arrived home from my outing on March 14, north-central Texas was walloped by the forecasted thunderstorm and hail, and many homes and vehicles in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metropolitan area suffered damage from the hail stones that were as small as a marble and as large as a baseball. The rain stopped during the early-morning hours of March 15, but it remained overcast and windy throughout the day.

On March 15, Todd Judy and Michael Carrasco joined me for a late-winter white-bass and black-bass outing at one of several U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ hill-land reservoirs in north-central Texas. Michael was visiting Todd during his school’s annual spring break, and this was Michael’s inaugural Midwest finesse outing.

The sky was overcast. The morning’s low temperature was 56 degrees. The afternoon’s high temperature slowly inched its way up to 64 degrees. The wind was problematic and angled out of the north-by-northeast at 20 to 30 mph. The barometric pressure measured 30.07 at 10:00 a.m. and 30.04 at 2:00 p.m.

According to In-Fisherman’s Solunar calander, the most productive fishing periods would occur from 3:43 a.m. to 5:43 a.m., 9:57 a.m. to 11:57 a.m., and 4:11 p.m. to 6:11 p.m. It also noted that March 15 would most likely be a poor day for fishing.

We began the outing in the upper end of the reservoir, where we had high hopes of tangling with oodles of spawning white bass in a minor feeder-creek arm. But when we arrived at the boat ramp at about 9:00 a.m., we observed endless numbers of white-capping waves pounding the boat ramp area. The one positive note was that the water temperature was 64 degrees, which is pretty warm for this time of year. But the advantage of the warmer water temperature was overshadowed by the extremely muddy water that exhibited only an inch or two of visibility. The water level was also slightly high.

We managed to launch the boat, and we slowly made our way to a minor feeder-creek arm about a mile away from the boat ramp. Once we arrived at the feeder-creek arm, we discovered that the water inside the creek arm was just as muddy as it was at the boat ramp, and floating wood debris, such as logs and large limbs, were just about everywhere we went. We slowly motored up the creek arm in hopes of finding clearer water, but after about 45 minutes of searching, we ended our white-bass endeavor without making a single cast. We returned to the boat ramp and trailered the boat. We were feeling a bit hungry at this point, so we stopped and got some lunch. We then travelled to the lower end of the reservoir.

Once we arrived in the lower region of the reservoir, we launched the boat inside a major feeder-creek arm that provided us some shelter from the wind and white-capping waves, and we began our search for some pre-spawn largemouth bass and spotted bass. We didn’t get to fish very long before it began to rain, but we did manage to get afloat from about noon to 1:15 p.m.

The water conditions were much better in the lower end of the reservoir. The water temperature was 61 degrees, which was a tad bit cooler than it was in the upper end of the reservoir, but the water clarity had improved from one to two inches of clarity to 18 inches of clarity.

We shared this creek arm with about eight other boat anglers, who were also looking for some wind-protected areas to fish. We targeted a 50-yard stretch of a flat, gravel, rock, and boulder-laden shoreline near the boat ramp, a prominent secondary point endowed with large rocks and boulders, a small protected cove, and a submerged roadbed. These areas are situated in the middle and upper end of the creek arm. We fished in water as shallow as two feet and as deep as 10 feet, and it was a chore to catch four largemouth bass.

Michael caught the first one, which was the first largemouth bass he had ever caught, in three feet of water along the 50-yard section of rocky shoreline. This bass was allured by a steady-swimming retrieve with a Z-Man’s pearl Baby Goat matched with a chartreuse 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead.

We caught the second and third largemouth bass from the prominent boulder-laden secondary point that is situated a short distance from the rocky shoreline that we just fished. One was caught on the pearl Baby Goat rig that was employed with a moderately-paced swimming retrieve, and the other one was also caught on a moderately-paced swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s space-guppy Slim SwimZ rigged on a chartreuse 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead.

After that, we fished our way inside the small cove in the upper end of the creek arm. We covered this cove thoroughly, and we struggled to scrounge up one largemouth bass. This cove’s submerged terrain is composed of mostly red clay, small bits and pieces of gravel and small rocks, and a few scattered boulders. Portions of the shallow-water areas are adorned with patches of flooded buckbrush. Its western shoreline is completely covered with riprap. A small creek enters the cove at one end of the riprap shoreline. We caught this largemouth bass in three feet of water from the outside edge of one of the patches of flooded buckbrush along the north shoreline of the cove. It engulfed the pearl Baby Goat combo as we were steadily swimming it about a foot away from a thick patch of buckbrush. We temporarily hooked and lost another largemouth bass on the pearl Baby Goat rig that was abiding in about four feet of water near several thin patches of flooded buckbrush on the east side of the cove. We missed one strike on the Baby Goat rig along the cove’s west-side riprap shoreline.

We failed to catch a largemouth bass, spotted bass or garner a strike from the submerged roadbed.

From that creek arm, we travelled about a mile eastward to a main-lake point, which forms one of the entry points to a large main-lake bay. This bay is located in the lower end of a major tributary arm in the lower section of the reservoir. The gradient of this point varies from about 30 to 60 degrees. Its primary composition consists of red clay and small pea-size gravel. There is a large cluster of boulders situated in about a 30-yard section of its shoreline on the main-lake side of the point.

When we first arrived, we immediately noticed that our sonar devices were detecting large numbers of threadfin shad and white bass grouped up just outside the mouth of the bay in the main-lake area and in the vicinity of this main-lake point, but we were unable to get the white bass to respond to our presentations, so, we continued searching for more largemouth and spotted bass.

The interior shoreline of the main-lake point yielded one largemouth bass and one spotted bass. Michael caught both of them, and this was his first spotted bass that he has ever caught. Both of these black bass were tempted by the pearl Baby Goat rig and a fast-paced swimming retrieve about a foot under the surface of the water.

Just after Michael caught the spotted bass, it began to thunder and lightly rain on us. We quickly ducked into a nearby marina and took shelter in an open boat slip under a covered boat dock for a few minutes. A weather app on Todd’s cell phone indicated that a major thunderstorm was quickly approaching from the west and would last a couple of hours. At that point, we decided to cut our outing shorter than we had planned, and we were leaving just as the thunderstorm arrived.

In sum, several late-winter thunderstorms are beginning to turn the federal, state, and community reservoirs in north-central Texas into a muddy mess, and more thunderstorms are in the forecast for March 16. What’s more, we had a trying time battling the robust winds and three-foot waves while trying to find suitable water conditions to fish. When we did finally find some calmer water and decent water conditions to ply, we were only able to fish for about 75 minutes before another irksome thunderstorm ended our outing.

Ultimately, we caught a total of five largemouth bass and one spotted bass during this very disappointing and tumultuous outing. On a positive note, Michael was able to catch his first ever largemouth bass and spotted bass.

Mar. 19

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his Mar. 19 outing with John Thomas of Denton.

Here is an edited version of his log.

John and I opted to check the state of the black-bass fishing at our most challenging U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ hill-land reservoir in north-central Texas. Durinng the past several years, this reservoir has developed a reputation for being very stingy with its largemouth bass, spotted bass, and smallmouth bass. On March 2, I fished at this reservoir for four hours, and I struggled to catch five largemouth bass. It was a bit less stingy on Mar. 19, but not by much.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar indicated that fishing would be poor on Mar. 19. The calendar also noted that the best fishing would occur from 1:06 a.m. to 3:06 a.m., 7:19 a.m. to 9:19 a.m., and 7:44 p.m. to 9:44 p.m.

We fished from 11:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

It was sunny. Area thermometers recorded the morning’s low temperature at 35 degrees and the afternoon’s high reached 69 degrees. The barometric pressure measured 30.27 at 11:00 a.m. and it dropped to 30.08 by 4:00 p.m. The wind quartered out of the south-by-southwest at 10 to 15 mph.

The water exhibited between 1 1/4 and two feet of visibility. The surface temperature ranged from 58 to 62 degrees. The water level was 2.39 feet above normal.

We searched for largemouth bass, spotted bass, and smallmouth bass inside one minor feeder-creek arm and two major feeder-creek arms in the middle section of the reservoir. After that, we meandered down-lake to the dam in the lower end of the impoundment, and we probed about 80-percent of the riprap that covers the dam.

The underwater terrains inside the three feeder-creek arms are similar and consist of clay, some sand, silt, gravel, fist-size rocks, and sandstone boulders. There are also numerous patches of flooded buck brush and stickups that grace many sections of the shorelines inside these creek arms.

During the first 3 1/2 hours of this outing. we caught only one largemouth bass inside the three feeder-creek arms. It was caught in four feet of water inside a small cove in the upper end of the first feeder-creek arm and near several large clusters of flooded buck brush. It engulfed a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ rigged on a blue 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead as it was being steadily retrieved along the outside edge of a cluster of buck brush.

Much to our chagrin, seven other coves, 11 rocky secondary points, a 75-yard rock bluff, three rocky shorelines, and two shallow gravel flats inside the three feeder-creek arms, and three main-lake entry points to these three creek arms were fruitless. But we did notice several large carp wallowing in shallow water about a foot deep and near the water’s edge as they were preparing their spawning nests.

We finished the outing at the dam, where we hoped to cross paths with a smallmouth bass or two. We drifted with the wind and probed about 80-percent of the riprap shoreline that covers the dam. And we caught our first four smallmouth bass of 2024. We also caught three largemouth bass and one white bass. All of these fish were suspended eight to 10 feet below the surface in 12 to 21 feet of water and from 10 to 25 feet from the water’s edge. They were caught on a slow-swimming retrieve with a 4.75-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ that was whittled down to 3 1/4-inches, and matched with a red 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead.

In sum, the black-bass fishing was slow and difficult, and we were befuddled that we could catch only four smallmouth bass, four largemouth bass, and one white bass in 5 1/2 hours.

Mar. 21

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, and John Kehde of Sedalia, Missouri, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about their Mar. 21 outing at an 86-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 36 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 57 degrees. The normal high temperature is 59 degrees and the normal low temperature is 34 degrees. The wind angled out of the east at 3 to 17 mph, and from 5:53 a.m. to 11:53 a.m., the wind gusts ranged from 21 to 24 mph, and at 1:53 p.m., a gust reached 16 mph. The sky was fair – except from 7:53 a.m. to 10:53 a.m., when it fluctuated from being partly cloudy to overcast to mostly cloudy to cluttered with a few clouds. The barometric pressure was 30.10 at 12:53 a.m., 30.09 at 5:53 a.m., 30.09 at 11:53 a.m., and 29.99 at 2:53 p.m.

The water level at this reservoir looked to be normal. The surface temperature ranged from 52 to 53 degrees. According to our nine-foot dipstick, the water exhibited five to six feet of visibility across the shallow-water flats and along two shorelines in the upper half of the reservoir. We were delighted to discover some submerged patches of coontail, curly-leaf pondweeds, and greening wads of filamentous algae that the grass carp have not annihilated.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 8:36 a.m. to 10:36 a.m., 8:58 p.m. to 10:58 p.m., and 2:24 a.m. to 4:24 a.m.

This is a short but surprisingly fruitful outing for March of 2024. John could not fish more than two hours, so we decided we would try to catch 30 largemouth bass in less than two hours.

We made our first casts at 11:40 a.m. and our last casts when we caught largemouth bass no. 30, 31, and 32 on successive casts at around 1:33 p.m.

We spent these 113 minutes in the upper third of the reservoir, dissecting about a 400-yard stretch of one shoreline and about a 150-yard section of another shoreline.

The green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD rig has become one of our most effective Midwest finesse rig during the first seven week of spring.

The 400-yard shoreline possesses a 20- to 60-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, and a tad of silt, which is occasionally quilted with some meager patches of wilted coontail and some greening wads of filamentous algae Its water’s edge is endowed with 12 docks, one small rock bridge, a few piles of brush, long stretches of concrete retaining walls, one concrete and rock jetty, some riprap, and occasional patches of winter-dead American water willows. This shoreline yielded 24 largemouth bass. One was caught on a significantly shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s green -pumpkin Finesse WormZ affixed to a red 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead with a drag-and-pause presentation in about five feet of water. Another largemouth bass was caught on a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD HogZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Micro Finesse with a drag-and-shake presentation in seven to eight feet of water. Twenty-two of the twenty-four were caught on a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD rigged on a baby-blue 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead; five were caught on the initial drop in three to five feet of water; the others were caught on either a drag-and-pause presentation or a slow swim-glide-and-subtle-shake presentation in four to eight feet of water. Three were caught immediately adjacent to a dock.

The other eight largemouth bass were caught along the 150-yard section of the other shoreline. This shoreline possesses a 25- to 45-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders; this terrain is occasionally enhanced with patches of wilted coontail, a few burgeoning patches of curly-leaf pondweeds, greening wads of filamentous algae, and some manmade piles of brush. The water’s edge is lined with several concrete retaining walls, some rock retaining walls, 12 docks, a few shallow-water piles of brush, and occasionally patches of winter-dead American water willows. Our green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD rigs caught these largemouth bass as we employed either a drag-and-pause presentation or a slow swim-glide-and-subtle-shake presentation in four to seven feet of water. Two were caught immediately adjacent to a dock. Largemouth bass number 29, 30, 31, and 32 were caught around the burgeoning patches of curly-leaf pondweeds.

In closing, this is the first time John has been able to fish since July 3, 2018. It was a captivating time watching him fish again. He was equally enchanted with Z-Man’s Drew's Ultimate Ned Rig Rods; he found them to be a wonderful way to tangle with an average of about 17 largemouth bass an hour.

In short, spring seems to be here.

Mar. 21

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his Mar. 21 outing.

Here is an edited version of his log.

Winter is finally over, and I spent part of the third day of spring at a north Texas’ community reservoir.

March 21 began with some sun in a partly cloudy sky, but by 2:15 p.m., it was overcast and raining. The morning’s low temperature was 58 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 64 degrees. The wind quartered out of the south-by-southeast at 10 to 15 mph.

The water level appeared to be at normal pool, and exhibited about two feet of visibility. The surface temperature was 64 degrees. The submerged terrain consists of clay, small pieces of gravel, and a few scattered boulders. A couple of shallow-water areas are adorned with small clusters of cypress-tree knees. Portions of the submerged terrain is also embellished with several large patches of submerged baby pondweeds.

I made my first cast at 11:15 a.m. while it was sunny, and my last cast was at 2:15 p.m., when it began to rain.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar indicated the fishing would be poor, and the optimum fishing periods would take place from 2:33 a.m. to 4:33 a.m., 8:44 a.m. to 10:44 a.m., and 9:07 p.m. to 11:07 p.m.

The lower end of the impoundment is flat and shallow, and the upper end is similarly shallow and flat. The upper end is also adorned with a small fishing pier and a large patch of baby pondweed. The midsection of the reservoir is endowed with several minor points composed of clay mixed with small gravel, several shallow ledges, and some medium-size patches of baby pondweed.

Three of the larger patches of baby pondweed that are situated in three to five feet of water and are closest to the shallow ledges in the middle section of the impoundment relinquished 15 largemouth bass and one large bluegill.

The shallow patches of baby pondweed in the upper end of the reservoir, and the shallow flat in the lower end of the impoundment were bereft of largemouth bass.

Ten of the 15 largemouth bass were allured by a slow-paced swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ matched with a chartreuse 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead as it was maneuvered over the top and around the sides of the three patches of baby pondweed. Two bass were caught on a moderate-paced swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s space-guppy Slim SwimZ rigged on a chartreuse 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. Another largemouth bass was caught on a red 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead dressed with a Z-Man's California-craw TRD HogZ and a slow-swimming retrieve. Largemouth bass number 14 was caught on a slow-paced swimming retrieve with a 3 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Trick ShotZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/32-ounce OG Mushroom Jighead. Largemouth bass number 15 and the large bluegill were caught on a shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ with a slow-swimming presentation; this Finesse WormZ rig is 3 1/4 inches long.

March 22

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his Mar. 22 outing.

Here is an edited version of his log.

From 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., I conducted a solo excursion to one of several U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ hill-land reservoirs in north-central Texas.

The sky was overcast for most of the outing, and then it became partly cloudy and sunny. The morning’s low temperature was 56 degrees. The afternoon’s high reached 68 degrees. A chilly wind angled out of the northwest at 15 to 22 mph. The barometric pressure measured 29.87 at 11:00 a.m. and 29.89 at 3:00 p.m.

The water level was normal. The water exhibited two feet of visibility in the lower region of the reservoir, but it was muddy with less than a foot of visibility in the upper end and inside several feeder-creek arms in the middle and lower sections of the reservoir. This was the aftereffect of the runoff from several recent thunderstorms that walloped north-central Texas during the past couple of weeks. The water’s surface temperature was 59 degrees.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar table noted that fishing would be poor, and the most productive fishing periods would occur from 3:12 a.m. to 5:12 a.m., 9:23 a.m. to 11:23 a.m., and 9:44 p.m. to 11:44 p.m.

During this outing, I found two feeder-creek arms in the lower end of the reservoir where the water wasn’t muddy. Both of these creek arms contain a large marina. Their shorelines vary from being relatively flat to inclines of 30 to 45 degrees.

Inside these two feeder-creek arms, I fished from their upper sections to their mouths. I focused on a variety of black-bass haunts such as: clay-and-pea-gravel flats with flooded stickups or buck brush, small protected coves in the upper and midsections of the creek arms, steep clay-and-gravel shorelines behind the covered boat docks, rock- and boulder-laden secondary points, the areas around three concrete boat ramps, and two main-lake points at the entrance to one of the feeder-creek arms. I fished in water as shallow as two feet and as deep as 13 feet, and almost all of these locales were fruitless.

Inside the first feeder-creek arm, I caught six spotted bass and five largemouth bass. These 11 black bass were relating to two small gravel-and-clay flats located behind a couple of rows of boat docks. The flats are adorned with either flooded buck brush or thin patches of stickups in the midsection of the creek arm. These 11 black bass were abiding in four to six feet of water and about 10 to 15 feet away from the outside edges of the flooded buck brush and patches of stickups.

I was unable to elicit any strikes inside the small protected cove, the steep shorelines behind the covered boat docks, the rock- and boulder-laden secondary points, the areas around the three concrete boat ramps, and around the two main-lake entry points.

At the second feeder-creek arm, which is located about a mile east of the first creek arm, I probed a medium-sized flat that is composed of red clay and gravel, two concrete boat ramps, three rocky shorelines, seven rocky secondary points, a shallow rock ledge at the mouth of the creek arm, and a small cove in the midsection of the creek arm. Ultimately, I caught six spotted bass and four largemouth bass. Six of the 10 black bass were caught in four to six feet of water across the medium-sized flat that is situated in the lower section of the creek arm. The other four were caught along the shallow rock ledge at the mouth of the creek arm.

I failed to locate any largemouth or spotted bass around the two concrete boat ramps, the three rocky shorelines, the seven rocky secondary points, and inside the small cove.

Fourteen of the 21 black bass engulfed a Z-Man’s pearl Baby Goat rigged on a chartreuse 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead while it was being employed with a steady-swimming retrieve. The other seven black bass were allured by a swimming retrieve with a three-inch Z-Man’s space guppy Slim SwimZ matched with a blue 3/32-ounce OG Mushroom Jighead.

I was unable to elicit any strikes with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pumpkin-chartreuse ZinkerZ rigged on a black 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead, a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin-red-flake ZinkerZ affixed on a red 1/16-ounce OG Mushroom Jighead, a Z-Man’s watermelon-red Finesse ShadZ fastened on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce OG Mushroom Jighead, and a shortened 3 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ attached to a chartreuse 1/32-ounce OG Mushroom Jighead.

In closing, this was what we consider an above-average outing by north-central Texas’ standards, and it appears that the black bass that inhabit this Corps’ reservoir are beginning to wake up from their wintertime funk.

Mar. 27

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his outing with Pok Chi Lau of Lawrence on Mar. 27 at a 92-year-old 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 16 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 53 degrees. The wind was calm at times, and when it stirred, it was either variable or angling out of the northwest at 3 to 8 mph. The sky was fair during most of the day, but for five hours it varied from being mostly cloudy to overcast to partly cloudy to cluttered with a few clouds. The barometric pressure was 30.06 at 12:52 a.m., 30.11 at 5:52 a.m., 30.22 at 11:52 a.m., and 30.19 at 4:52 p.m.

The water level looked to be a few inches above normal. The surface temperature was 50 to 51 degrees. The water exhibited more than nine feet of clarity. Its shallow-water flats and shorelines are endowed with uncountable numbers of patches of curly-leaf pondweeds, which are interlaced with some patches of coontail and wads of filamentous algae. This exurban reservoir is usually heavily fished, but we were the only anglers afloat.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 12:13 a.m. to 2:13 a.m., 12:34 p.m. to 2:34 p.m., and 6:23 a.m. to 8:23 a.m.

We made our first casts at 1:58 p.m. and our last casts at 4:50 p.m. when we caught largemouth bass number 50. We must confess that most of these largemouth bass would not impress a lunker hunter or a tournament angler or a producer of a fishing show on television.

One of the 50 largemouth bass was caught on a slightly shortened Z-Man’s Drew’s-craw TRD TicklerZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. Five of the 50 were caught on a significantly shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s purple-haze Finesse WormZ affixed to a red 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. This 4.75-inch Finesse WormZ was about 3.25 inches long. A Z-Man’s green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD affixed to a baby-blue 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead caught forty-four largemouth bass and one green sunfish.

We fished around three main-lake points, along portions of two main-lake shorelines, along long portions of two shorelines inside a major feeder-creek arm, and along short segments of two shorelines and around three secondary points inside another major feeder-creek arm.

We failed to elicit a strike around one main-lake point. Both of the other main-lake points yielded one largemouth bass, and they were caught on our green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD rigs with a drag-and-deadstick presentation in six to seven feet of water. These points possess a 40- to 50-degree slope. Their underwater terrains consist of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are carpeted with a few patches of curly-leaf pondweeds. Their water’s edges are enhanced with intense patches of winter-dead American water willows.

Along about a 40-yard stretch of a main-lake shoreline that is immediately adjacent to one of the fruitful main-lake points, we caught two largemouth bass. This shoreline has about a 45- to 50-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, and a barn’s concrete and rock foundation. This area is also laced with some patches of curly-leaf pondweeds. The water’s edge is lined with thick patches of winter-dead American water willows and two well-worn laydowns. These largemouth bass were caught on our green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD rigs as we were slowly strolling and executing a drag-shake-and-pause presentation in five to seven feet of water. One was caught around the barn foundation and one of the laydowns. The other one was caught around the outside edge of a patch of curly-leaf pondweeds.

We caught 13 largemouth bass along about a 350-yard stretch of a shoreline inside one of the major feeder-creek arms. This shoreline has a 30- to 60-degree slope. It is graced with three tertiary points and two secondary points. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders that are frequently covered with patches of curly-leaf pondweeds. The water’s edge is often enhanced with thick patches of winter-dead American water willows and several well-aged laydowns. One of the 13 largemouth bass was caught on the purple-haze Finesse WormZ rig with a swim-glide-and-shake presentation in the vicinity of one of the laydowns in about four feet of water. Along the edge of a patch of curly-leaf pondweeds, the initial drop of the Drew’s-craw TRD TicklerZ rig caught one of the 13 largemouth bass in about four to five feet of water. Eleven of the 13 largemouth bass were caught on our green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD rigs; two were caught on the initial drop in about four to five feet of water around the edges of the patches of curly-leaf pondweeds and several feet from the outside edges of the thick patches of winter-dead American water willows; nine were caught as we employed either a drag-and-shake presentation or a drag-and-deadstick presentation in five to seven feet of water.

Along about a 450-yard stretch of another shoreline inside this feeder-creek arm, we caught 19 largemouth bass. This shoreline possesses a 25- to 55-degree slope. It is endowed with three secondary points and two tertiary points. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, and many sections of this terrain are carpeted with significant patches of curly-leaf pondweeds. The water's edge is adorned with numerous patches of winter-dead American water willows, one ancient rock fence, a few old laydowns, a dilapidated catfish feeder, and a few piles of brush. The steeper areas yielded the bulk of the 19 largemouth bass. Four of the 19 largemouth bass were caught on the purple-haze Finesse WormZ rig, and 15 were caught on the green-pumpkin-goby Finesse WormZ rig. Two of the secondary points yielded a largemouth bass. The ancient rock fence yielded two largemouth bass. The other 15 were caught along the shoreline. Two of the 19 were caught on the initial drop of our rigs in four to five feet of water. The others were caught as we employed either a slow drag-and-shake presentation or a drag-and-deadstick presentation in five to nine feet of water. Several were caught as we were strolling and employing those two presentations.

We caught 10 largemouth along the short segments of two shorelines and around three secondary points inside another major feeder-creek arm. The underwater terrains of these areas consist of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are often heavily carpeted with curly-leaf pondweeds. The water’s edges are occasionally decorated with winter-dead patches of American water willows, some laydowns, and a few piles of brush. All 10 of these largemouth bass were inveigled by the green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD rig. Four were caught around or between patches of curly-leaf pondweeds with a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in about five to six feet of water. The other six were caught as we employed either a drag-and-subtle-shake presentation or a drag-and-short-pause presentation in five to seven feet of water.

We caught four largemouth bass along about a 200-yard stretch of a main-lake shoreline in the vicinity of the dam. This shoreline possesses a 40- to 90-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. Some of the boulders are quite humongous. This underwater area is dotted periodically with patches of curly-leaf pondweeds. The water’s edge is embellished with some thick patches of winter-dead American water willows and a few elderly laydowns. All four of the largemouth bass were caught on our green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD rigs; one was caught on a deadstick presentation in about five feet of water; the others were caught on a drag-and-pause presentation in about five to eight feet of water.

It has been an extremely windy March, which has kept geriatric anglers like Pok Chi Lau and me at bay for many of the past 26 days. What’s more, our thermometers have been executing many wild swings, stretching from low temperatures in the teens to highs into the low 80s. Thus, there have been several significant post-cold front days, which many anglers bemoan as being a difficult time to inveigle a significant number of largemouth bass. But during this noteworthy post-cold-front outing, which totaled two hours and 50 minutes of fishing, our Midwest finesse rigs and rods caught an average of 17.8 largemouth bass an hour.

Mar. 30

Bob Gum of Kansas City, Kansas, posted a brief on the Finesse News Network about his Mar. 30 outing at a 60-year-old federal reservoir in northeastern Kansas, where he was hoping to tangle with a significant number of smallmouth bass.

Here is an edited version of his brief.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 42 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 69 degrees. The wind fluctuated from being variable to angling out of the west, northwest, north, northeast, and east at 3 to 12 mph. The sky was fair. The barometric pressure was 29.72 at 12:52 a.m., 29.88 at 5:52 a.m., 29.97 at 11:52 a.m., and 29.90 at 2:52 p.m.

The water level was 2.34 feet below normal. The surface temperature in the lower 20 percent of the reservoir was 53 degrees. The water exhibited 1 ½ feet of clarity.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 2:46 a.m. to 4:46 a.m., 3:12 p.m. to 5:12 p.m., and 8:59 a.m. to 10:59 a.m.

I was afloat from 7:07 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

I spent these six hours and 53 minutes fishing around a bridge, along four of the bridge’s massive riprap shorelines, along 150 yards of a main-lake shoreline adjacent to the bridge, along a 100-yard stretch of the riprap shoreline of the dam, around several main-lake points, and along the riprap shorelines of the bridge again.

It was a mighty struggle to catch nine freshwater drum, three smallmouth bass, two largemouth bass, and one white bass, which were caught on either a 2 ½-inch Z-Man’s Junebug ZinkerZ or a 2 ½-inch Z-Man’s watermelon-red ZinkerZ affixed to a 1/20-ounce red mushroom-style jig. They were caught on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation in three to six feet of water.

Most of the fish were caught from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., and during the last three hours, I eked out one freshwater drum.