Ned Kehde: Guide to Midwest Finesse Fishing: July 2026

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, with one of the largemouth bass he caught on July 21.

July 2

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted this log on the Finesse News Network about his morning outing at a state reservoir with Frank Gosnell of Sanger, Texas, on July 2.

From 6:40 a.m. to 11:40 a.m., we fished at a state reservoir located in a rural area of north-central Texas.

According to In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar, the fishing would be average with the best opportunities occurring from 12:51 a.m. to 2:51 a.m., 7:03 a.m. to 9:03 a.m., and 1:14 p.m. to 3:14 p.m.

It was sunny, and the sky was partly cloudy. The morning’s low temperature was 74 degrees, and the afternoon's high temperature soared to a sweltering 100 degrees. The barometric pressure measured 29.95 at 6:00 a.m. and 29.98 at 11:00 a.m. The wind blew out of the south at 5 to 12 mph.

The water exhibited about 18 inches of visibility. The surface temperature ranged from 79 to 81 degrees. The water level was four feet below its normal pool.

During this five-hour excursion, we covered about five miles of the middle and lower sections of the reservoir. We caught a total of 24 black bass, which consisted of 13 spotted bass and 11 largemouth bass. This reservoir is also inhabited by smallmouth bass, but we didn’t come across any of them during this outing. Besides the 24 black bass, we unintentionally caught four white bass and one channel catfish.

We spent most of our time fishing shaded areas on the east side of the reservoir’s lower and middle sections. We fished two spots on the west side of the reservoir. We targeted nine main-lake points, two main-lake islands, two main-lake bluffs, a main-lake jetty, and one side of a causeway that is covered with chunk rock.

Only two of the nine rocky main-lake points were productive; they surrendered a combination of 15 largemouth and spotted bass. Thirteen were caught from the first one, and two were caught from the second one. The other seven points were fruitless. These two points are flat and endowed with countless numbers of chunky rocks and boulders. These 15 black bass were abiding in three to 14 feet of water, and most of them were in open water 15 to 20 feet from the rocks and boulders. Four of them were caught on a slow swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s slam-shady GrubZ rigged on a blue 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. Another four were caught on a swimming retrieve with a three-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ attached to a blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. Three were caught on a slow and steady swimming retrieve with a Z-Man’s coppertreuse TRD TicklerZ fastened to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. Two more were caught on a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ on a blue 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig with a steady swimming retrieve. One was enticed by a slow and steady swimming retrieve with a Z-Man’s hot snakes Finesse TRD rigged on a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. And one was caught on a hop-and-bounce presentation with a three-inch Z-Man’s cisco-disco Slim SwimZ matched with a chartreuse 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig.

We had mixed results at the two main-lake islands.

One of the islands has a flat topography with flooded bushes, stickups, standing timber, and boulders cluttering its perimeter. The shaded areas around this island relinquished seven largemouth and spotted bass that were relating to the outside edges of the flooded bushes and stickups in less than five feet of water. Three of them were caught on a steady swimming retrieve with the Z-Man’s coppertreuse TRD TicklerZ. Two were lured by a slow swimming retrieve with the 2 1/2-inch slam shady GrubZ, and one was caught on a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ fastened on a blue 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig and a steady swimming retrieve.

The sun-drenched areas around this island were unproductive.

The second island has no flooded terrestrial vegetation or submerged aquatic vegetation. It also had no shaded areas. Its submerged terrain is laden with rocks and boulders. The shoreline is steeper than the first island, exhibiting 25- to 35-degree gradients. We fished around this island much later in the morning, and we failed to catch any black bass from around it.

Along the two rock bluffs, the shaded areas along the first bluff failed to yield any strikes. This bluff is about 50 yards long. It features large rocks and boulders that litter the base of the bluff in three to eight feet of water.

The shaded areas of the second bluff were a tad more productive than the first bluff; this bluff relinquished one largemouth bass and one spotted bass.

This bluff features countless numbers of large boulders and rocks, some stumps, a couple of laydowns, and four boathouses. We caught these two black bass about 20 feet from the large submerged boulders. They were suspended about five feet below the surface in 21 feet of water. The largemouth bass was caught on a steady swimming retrieve with a three-inch Z-Man’s The Deal Slim SwimZ threaded to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. The spotted bass was caught on a slow swimming retrieve with the 2 1/2-inch slam shady GrubZ rig.

We failed to elicit any strikes from a riprap-laden jetty and a 50-yard section of a riprap causeway in the midsection of the reservoir.

Our two most effective lures were the 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s slam-shady GrubZ that was attached to a blue 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse jig, and a three-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ that was rigged on a blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse jig.

The 2 1/2-inch GrubZ rig was employed with a slow and steady swimming retrieve, and the three-inch pearl Slim SwimZ combo was utilized with a moderate-paced swimming retrieve.

July 3

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted this log on the Finesse News Network about his morning outing with Bill Kenney of Denton on July 3 at a federal hill-land reservoir in north-central Texas.

Normally, we avoid the federal, state, and community reservoirs in north-central Texas during the three-day Fourth of July holiday weekend, but we made an exception this time. This reservoir wasn’t too busy when we launched the boat at 6:00 a.m., but by 8:30 a.m., it was bustling with pleasure boaters, jet skiers, wakeboarders, boat anglers, and bank fishermen. A couple of the areas that we had planned to fish were already occupied by other anglers.

It was sunny and humid on July 3. A few cirrus clouds drifted high overhead. The morning’s low temperature was 77 degrees, and the afternoon’s high was 96 degrees with a heat index of 102 degrees. The barometric pressure measured 29.99 at 6:00 a.m. and 30.01 at 10:00 a.m. A light breeze blew out of the south at 5 to 10 mph.

The water level was 1.04 feet above normal. The water clarity was 18 inches. The surface temperature varied from 81 to 83 degrees.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar table indicated that the fishing would be poor. The most productive fishing periods would occur from 1:39 a.m. to 3:39 a.m., 7:50 a.m. to 9:50 a.m., and 2:01 p.m. to 4:01 p.m.

We fished from 6:15 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.

We spent these four hours in the lower and middle sections of a major tributary arm in the lower end of the reservoir. The black bass bite was surprisingly good, and we enjoyed tussling with 28 largemouth bass and 15 spotted bass. We also caught one white bass by accident.

In a nutshell, there wasn’t any dominant location pattern to speak of other than shady areas that were entertaining significant numbers of threadfin shad; these areas were more productive than sunny areas with threadfin shad. We caught many of them in two to 12 feet of water from main-lake rocky points with inclines of 25 to 60 degrees, along a 75-yard main-lake bluff, and along three rocky and flat main-lake shorelines.

We also caught some of the largemouth bass and spotted bass in the lower and middle sections of two major feeder-creek arms. These black bass were abiding in two to eight feet of water, and they were relating to clusters of chunky rocks and boulders that clutter the secondary points, shorelines, and a secondary bluff inside the two creek arms. The secondary shorelines were flat, and the secondary points were steeper with gradients of 40 to 60 degrees.

We failed to elicit any strikes from around thick patches of flooded bushes intertwined with chunky rocks that embellish the perimeter of a main-lake island and a riprap embankment in the back end of a large bay.

In conclusion, we caught 12 of the 43 black bass and the one white bass on either a slow swim-and-constant-shake retrieve or the initial fall of a Z-Man’s blue-steel Finesse ShadZ matched with a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig. A steady swimming retrieve with a Z-Man’s pearl Baby Goat rigged on a chartreuse 1/8-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse Fish HeadZ jig lured 12 black bass. Nine were enticed by either a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation, a hop-and-bounce presentation, or the initial fall of a 1.75-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Fuzzy BugZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig. A three-inch Z-Man’s cisco-disco Slim SwimZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig with a steady swimming retrieve tempted nine more black bass. The initial fall of a 1.75-inch Z-Man’s pearl Fuzzy BugZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig lured one largemouth bass.

July 6

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his July 6 outing with his son-in-law Mike Myers of Lawrence at a 94-year-old state reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 64 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 89 degrees. The wind was calm and variable, and it also angled out of the east and northwest at 3 to 7 mph. The sky was fair with a few clouds. The barometric pressure was 30.02 at 12:52 a.m., 30.03 at 5:52 a.m., 30.07 at 11:52 a.m., and 30.04 at 1:52 p.m.

The water level looked to be about two feet above normal. The surface temperature was 85 degrees. Our nine-foot push pole indicated that the water had more than nine feet of clarity. Massive patches of brittle naiad and coontail coat much of the underwater terrain of the shallow-water flats and shorelines. Patches of American water willows grace some of the shorelines, but to our chagrin, many of these once thick and bountiful patches are disappearing.

This exurban reservoir is usually heavily fished, but it wasn’t on this first day after the Fourth of July weekend.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 3:52 a.m. to 5:52 a.m., 4:14 p.m. to 6:14 p.m., and 10:03 a.m. to 12:03 p.m.

We made our first casts at 10:01 a.m. and our last ones at 12:36 p.m. During these 155 minutes, we caught 43 largemouth bass and three bluegill.

Two of the 43 largemouth bass were caught on a 3.5-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin GrubZ affixed to a blue 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. A shortened 2.75-inch Z-Man’s hot-snakes Finesse TRD attached to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig inveigled two largemouth bass. A shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s purple-haze Finesse WormZ attached to a blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig caught four largemouth bass. A shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s dirt Finesse WormZ attached to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig inveigled 35 largemouth bass. Our Finesse WormZ rigs were shortened to 3 ½-inches. The Finesse TRD rig was 2 ¼ -inches long.

This is our dirt Finesse WormZ rig. It is no longer manufactured. The pumpkin Finesse WormZ is an excellent substitute for the dirt one.

We caught these 43 largemouth bass from as close as six feet to as far as about 40 feet from the water’s edge. We caught them in water as shallow as four feet and as deep as 16 feet.

We failed to elicit a strike around a main-lake point at the mouth of this reservoir’s primary feeder-creek arms.

Along the entire east shoreline of this feeder-creek arm, we eked out 13 largemouth bass. This shoreline possesses a 25- to 55-degree slope. It has three secondary points and one tertiary point. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, and an ancient rock fence. Portions of this terrain are decorated with brittle naiad, coontail, and a few manmade piles of brush. The water’s edge is enhanced with a few patches of American water willows, several well-aged laydowns, a dilapidated catfish feeder, and many overhanging trees. The outside edges of many of the American water willows are intertwined with brittle naiad. Our dirt Finesse WormZ rigs inveigled these largemouth bass on either the initial drop of the rig or as we employed a slow swim-glide-and-shake retrieve. Some were caught near the outside edges of the aquatic vegetation, and some were caught many feet from the vegetation. Six were caught along the shady areas of this shoreline. They were caught in water as shallow as four feet and as deep as 15 feet.

Across a massive shallow-water flat in the back of this feeder-creek arm, we caught four largemouth bass. It is the size of several football fields. Two small and submerged creek channels crisscross it. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and silt. Sections of it are enhanced with large patches of coontail. One area, which is slightly larger than a football field, is graced with a patch of American lotus; the size of this patch has diminished this year. Around the patches of coontail, we caught two of the four largemouth bass on the green-pumpkin GrubZ rig with a slow swimming presentation in about four to six feet of water as the GrubZ rig tickled the tops of the patches of coontail. The initial drop of the dirt Finesse WormZ rig inveigled one of the four largemouth bass in about four to five feet of water around a patch of coontail, and this rig caught another one with a swim-glide-and-shake presentation around another patch of coontail.

We caught 18 largemouth bass along the entire west shoreline of this feeder-creek arm. This shoreline has a 30- to 50-degree slope. It is graced with two secondary points. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, and some silt; much of this terrain is endowed with patches of brittle naiad and coontail. A submerged creek channel parallels portions of this shoreline. The water’s edge is enhanced with some meager patches of American water willows, several laydowns, and a few overhanging trees. The outside edges of many of the American water willows are intertwined with brittle naiad. Our dirt Finesse WormZ rig lured 12 of the 18 largemouth bass. The purple-haze Finesse WormZ rig enticed four of the 18, and two were caught on the hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig. Four were caught as we were strolling with a drag-pause-and-shake presentation in the submerged creek channel in 10 to 16 feet of water. Five were caught on the initial drop in four to six feet of water around or within close proximity to submerged patches of aquatic vegetation. Nine were caught on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation.

After we fished this feeder-creek’s western shoreline, we fished around the main-lake point and this point’s main-lake shoreline. The main-lake point has a 55-degree slope. The main-lake shoreline has a 50- to 85-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. Some of the boulders along the main-lake shoreline are humongous. This shoreline is about 300 yards long, and it eventually merges with the dam and spillway. These underwater terrains are covered with occasional piles of tree branches and patches of brittle naiad and coontail. Some of the water’s edges are lined with patches of American water willows, a few dilapidated laydowns, and a very shallow-water patch of cattails. Our dirt Finesse WormZ rig caught eight largemouth bass. Two were caught on the initial drop in about four to five feet of water, and six were caught on a very slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in five to 10 feet of water.

In sum, we caught an average of 17 largemouth bass per hour and one about every 3 ½ minutes. The shortened Finesse WormZ rig continues to be our most effective rig, and it has been that way since April 9, 2026.

July 8

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his July 8 outing with his son-in-law Mike Myers of Lawrence at an 87-year-old community reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 64 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 91 degrees. The wind was calm for seven hours; it was also variable and blowing from the east, south, and southeast at 3 to 10 mph. The sky was fair with a few clouds. The barometric pressure was 30.25 at 12:53 a.m., 30.04 at 5:53 a.m., 30.03 at 11:53 a.m., and 29.98 at 1:53 p.m.

The water level looked to be about normal. The surface temperature ranged from 86 to 88 degrees. The water exhibited about five to six feet of visibility in the vicinity of the dam. The visibility declined to about three feet in the upper half of the reservoir.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 5:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m., 5:55 p.m. to 7:55 p.m., and 11:18 a.m. to 1:18 p.m.

We made our first casts at 10:13 a.m. and our last ones at 1:52 p.m. During these 219 minutes, we caught 23 largemouth bass, nine smallmouth bass, and nine handsome bluegill.

All of these fish were caught on a shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse WormZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. It was shortened to 3 ½-inches.

Our Junebug Finesse WormZ rig.

We caught them by employing several presentations: the initial drop, a drag-and-shake presentation, and a swim-glide-and-shake presentation.

We caught one largemouth bass along an offshore submerged rock-and-boulder fence in four to six feet of water. Portions of this submerged fence are endowed with patches of Eurasian milfoil and bushy pondweeds. This offshore spot is in the lower third of this reservoir and between the mouths of two large feeder-creek arms. It was caught on a drag-and-shake presentation on top of the submerged fence in about four to five feet of water.

In the middle section of the reservoir, we fished along about a 700-yard stretch of a main-lake shoreline and around one main-lake point. This area has a 30- to 75-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, and portions of this terrain are enhanced with patches of Eurasian milfoil. The water’s edge is endowed with several laydowns, a few stretches of overhanging trees and terrestrial vegetation, occasional piles of tree limbs, and long stretches of thick patches of American water willows. Some of the patches of Eurasian milfoil are next to the outside edges of the American water willows. This area yielded two largemouth bass and one smallmouth bass. The smallmouth bass was caught around one of the main-lake points with a drag-and-shake presentation in about seven feet of water. The two largemouth bass were caught along the shoreline with a very slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in about six feet of water and many feet from the outside edge of the patches of American water willows.

In the upper half of the reservoir, we fished around one main-lake point and along about 500 yards of a main-lake shoreline. This area has a 40- to 80-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, and portions of this terrain are enhanced with patches of Eurasian milfoil. The water’s edge is endowed with several laydowns, some overhanging trees and terrestrial vegetation, occasional piles of tree limbs, patches of American water willows that are entwined with patches of Eurasian milfoil, and a small rock jetty with a derelict concrete dock slab. This area yielded one smallmouth bass and eight largemouth bass. One of the largemouth bass was caught around the point with a very slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in five to seven feet of water. The smallmouth bass was caught adjacent to a laydown on the initial drop in about five to six feet of water. Two of the largemouth bass were inveigled by the initial drop in about four feet of water. A swim-glide-and-shake presentation lured five largemouth bass around the patches of Eurasian milfoil.

Along about a 300-yard stretch of a main-lake shoreline and around a main-lake point in the upper half of the reservoir, we eked out one largemouth bass. It has a 25- to 45-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and some boulders, which are often coated with patches of Eurasian milfoil, bushy pondweeds, and a few piles of tree limbs. The water’s edge possesses a dock, several overhanging trees and bushes, an unused concrete dock slab, a series of PVC pipes for water pumps, a minor laydown, and a constantly running stream of water. The initial drop of the Finesse WormZ rig enticed the largemouth bass amongst a patch of Eurasian milfoil near the minor laydown in about five feet of water.

In the lower half of the reservoir, we failed to elicit a strike along about a 45-yard stretch of a main-lake shoreline. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, and all this terrain is endowed with thick patches of Eurasian milfoil. The water’s edge is endowed with some overhanging trees and terrestrial vegetation and occasional piles of tree limbs. It has a 30-degree slope that eventually plummets into deep water.

Inside a small feeder-creek arm in the lower half of the reservoir, we caught one smallmouth bass and two largemouth bass around a secondary point and along about a 60-yard section of a secondary shoreline. The underwater terrain of this shoreline consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are adorned with many patches of Eurasian milfoil. The water’s edge is endowed with a laydown, some piles of tree limbs, and a massive congregation of three overhanging trees. The largemouth bass were caught on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation around the outside edges of the patches of milfoil in about six feet of water. The smallmouth bass was caught on the initial drop of the Finesse WormZ rig under the overhanging trees in about six feet of water.

We caught two smallmouth bass and four largemouth bass along about an 800-yard stretch of a main-lake shoreline in the lower half of the reservoir. It possesses the entry to the reservoir's spillway, three main-lake points, and one tertiary point. The underwater terrain of the shoreline and points consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, and much of this terrain is coated with submerged patches of Eurasian milfoil and a few patches of bushy pondweeds. The water’s edge is lined with many patches of American water willows, one dock, several laydowns, a few overhanging trees, and some piles of tree limbs. The slope of these areas ranges from 25 to 50 degrees. One largemouth bass was caught around one of the main-lake points. The tertiary point yielded one largemouth bass. Two largemouth bass and two smallmouth bass were caught along this massive shoreline. All of them were caught on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation around the patches of Eurasian milfoil.

Three smallmouth bass and six largemouth bass were inveigled along the riprap shoreline of the dam, which is 2,200 feet long. This shoreline has a 50-degree slope. The water’s edge is dressed with numerous patches of shallow-water American water willows. The underwater terrain of riprap is partially adorned with patches of Eurasian milfoil, some patches of bushy pondweeds, and a few piles of tree limbs. Two of the nine black bass were caught as we used a drag-and-shake presentation in five to nine feet of water; two were caught on the initial drop in about three to four feet of water; a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in about five to eight feet of water lured four of the nine black bass.

Across a short section of the flat shoreline at the east end of the dam, we caught one smallmouth bass. This area has a 25-degree slope. The underwater terrain is comprised of gravel, rocks, and a few large boulders, which are adorned with patches of bushy pondweeds and Eurasian milfoil. The water’s edge is lined with thick patches of American water willows. The smallmouth bass was beguiled by a swim-glide-and-subtle-shake presentation around the patches of milfoil in about five feet of water.

When we made our last casts at 1:52 p.m., our fish counter indicated that we had caught 41 fish, which is an average of about 11 fish per hour and one fish every 5 ½ minutes. Thirty-two of the 41 were black bass.

By the way, this was Mike’s 60th birthday, and I was hoping that we would celebrate it by tangling with at least 30 largemouth bass and 30 smallmouth bass.

July 9

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted this report on the Finesse News Network about his July 9 outing with Todd Judy of Denton at a state reservoir in north-central Texas.

From 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., we fished at a state reservoir in north-central Texas that neither one of us has fished since June 4.

The vast majority of this reservoir’s submerged terrain consists of red clay, gravel, chunky rocks, and boulders. There are a few areas inside two major feeder-creek arms that are embellished with flooded timber, stumps, and laydowns. Also, there are several varieties of aquatic vegetation: American water willows, American pondweeds, yellow floating-heart, milfoil, coontail, and muskgrass.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the fishing would be poor, but the most productive fishing would occur from 12:10 a.m. to 2:10 a.m., 6:24 a.m. to 8:24 a.m., and 6:51 p.m. to 8:51 p.m.

It was sunny, hot, and humid. The sky was partly cloudy. The morning’s low temperature was 86 degrees, and the afternoon’s high peaked at 101 degrees with a heat index of 108 degrees. The wind was out of the south and southwest at 10 to 15 mph, which made it feel a touch cooler. The barometric pressure measured 29.92 at 6:00 a.m. and 29.98 at 10:00 a.m.

We spent these four hours in the lower and middle sections of the reservoir, where we concentrated our efforts on a main-lake flat, the shoreline of a chunk-rock-covered dam, three rocky main-lake points, a 50-yard section of a main-lake shoreline, and two rock-laden and boulder-laden bluffs.

We also searched for largemouth bass and spotted bass around several rocky secondary points and shorelines inside two of the reservoir's larger feeder-creek arms. One of the creek arms is located in the impoundment's midsection, and the other creek arm is situated in the lower end of the reservoir. Ultimately, we failed to locate any black bass in these two creek arms.

The water exhibited between 1 1/2 and two feet of visibility. The surface temperature ranged from 85 to 87 degrees. The water level appeared to be normal.

We wielded 13 Midwest finesse rigs to inveigle a mixed bag of 14 largemouth and spotted bass, and six of them were effective.

Six black bass were enticed by a slow swim-and-constant-shake presentation with a 1.75-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Fuzzy BugZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. A 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ rigged on a chartreuse 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead with an unvarying swimming retrieve about a foot below the surface of the water allured four black bass. A slow swimming presentation with a Z-Man’s Okeechobie-craw Baby Goat and a blue 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ Jig caught one largemouth bass. Another largemouth bass was caught on a slow swim-and-constant-shake retrieve with a Z-Man’s hot-snakes Finesse TRD affixed on a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. A Z-Man’s 1/15-ounce chartreuse Finesse ShroomZ jig sporting a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse TRD that was employed with a swim-glide-and-shake presentation induced a spotted bass. A slow hop-and-bounce retrieve with a 3 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD FattyZ rigged in a Texposed manner on a chartreuse 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s TT Lures NedlockZ EWG jig enticed one largemouth bass.

Three largemouth bass and one channel catfish were caught in three to five feet of water near thick patches of American pondweeds intermixed with clusters of chunky rocks on a main-lake flat. This flat is located in the midsection of this reservoir. It is embellished with patches of chunky rocks, several submerged stumps, and thick patches of American pondweeds and American water willows that embellish the shallow-water areas near the water’s edge.

Four largemouth bass were caught around two of the three rocky main-lake points. These points are situated from the lower to the middle section of the reservoir. Two of them are flat and adorned with chunky rocks, a few scattered boulders, and thick patches of American pondweeds. The third one is steep and endowed with a decorative rock retaining wall with chunky rocks reinforcing its base. These bass were caught around either submerged rocks and boulders or near the base of the rock retaining wall in five to 11 feet of water.

The riprap shoreline of the dam is 1,500 feet long, 96 feet high, and has about a 60-degree slope. There is a concrete outlet tower and spillway located near the south end of the dam. It yielded one spotted bass that was abiding in five feet of water and 10 feet from the water’s edge.

Along the first of two rock-bluff shorelines, we caught five spotted bass and one green sunfish. This bluff is located near the dam. These spotted bass were suspended three to five feet below the surface in 12 to 17 feet of water and 15 to 25 feet from the water’s edge. The other bluff is situated in the midsection of the impoundment. We failed to catch any black bass from it. Both of these bluffs are graced with overhanging trees, a few laydowns, large boulders, submerged tree trunks, and rock ledges.

We also fished a rocky main-lake shoreline just west of the dam. This shoreline is about 50 yards long and possesses a rock ledge that parallels the shoreline. The ledge is covered with seven to nine feet of water and descends into deeper water at about a 45-degree angle. The deep-water side of the ledge is cluttered with standing timber, numerous broken tree limbs, three large laydowns, and a couple of small brush piles. The top of the ledge is graced with several large mats of coontail, boulders, and a few stumps. The top of the ledge was unproductive, but the deep-water slope of the ledge relinquished one largemouth bass that was abiding on the downward slope of the ledge in 21 feet of water. It was relating to a minor brush pile situated on the slope of the ledge.

All told, the black-bass fishing was tediously slow and trying, and we worked hard to catch eight largemouth bass and six spotted bass. We also crossed paths with one channel catfish and one green sunfish. We caught 11 of these 14 black bass during the first two hours of this outing, but once the sun rose high in the sky, we toiled to catch three more bass during the last two hours.

None of them were impressive specimens, but the bulk of them were keeper-size between 14 and 15 inches in length.

July 14

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted this log on the Finesse News Network about his July 14 outing with Brad DePrater of Sanger, Texas, at a popular federal reservoir in north-central Texas.

According to In-Fisherman's Solunar calendar, the fishing forecast was excellent. The prime fishing periods would most likely occur between 5:01 a.m. and 7:01 a.m., 5:23 p.m. and 7:23 p.m., and 11:12 p.m. to 1:12 a.m.

A significant cold front passed through north-central Texas on July 13, and besides dropping the daytime and nighttime temperatures by about 10 degrees, it also released 2 1/2 to three inches of much-needed rainfall. The morning’s low temperature on July 14 was 74 degrees. The afternoon’s high temperature climbed to 91 degrees. The wind quartered out of the south-by-southeast at 5 to 10 mph. The barometric pressure measured 30.05 at 6:00 a.m. and 30.07 at 11:00 a.m. The sky conditions changed from mostly cloudy to partly cloudy.

This reservoir’s water level was 0.24 of a foot high. Depending on where we fished, the water exhibited between 18 and 30 inches of clarity. The surface temperature wasn’t that high for this time of year; it ranged from 82 to 84 degrees.

This reservoir’s underwater terrain consists primarily of red clay, pea gravel, chunky rocks, and quite a number of large boulders. There are some large burgeoning patches of Eurasian milfoil and hydrilla scattered about in several of this reservoir’s feeder-creek arms. The milfoil displayed a vibrant green hue, but the hydrilla was mostly brown with light-green tips. In the upper end of the reservoir, there are many acres of thick stands of flooded timber, laydowns, stumps, brush piles, and buck brush. We didn’t spend any time fishing there; we stayed in the lower end of the reservoir.

We had this reservoir mostly to ourselves; we saw only three other bass boats during this outing. And as we relished the peace and quiet, we found the black-bass fishing was enjoyable, too. We were afloat from 6:15 a.m. to 11:45 a.m., and we caught 27 black bass; 16 were largemouth bass and 11 were spotted bass, which is what we consider an above-average outing. We also caught three white bass and a channel catfish by accident.

Our primary mission for this outing was to search for largemouth bass and spotted bass inside a major feeder-creek arm in the lower end of the reservoir. This creek arm is situated in the reservoir’s east tributary arm. And after we finished fishing several locales in the creek arm, we investigated three rock-bluff points and small stretches of their adjoining main-lake shorelines, portions of the dam, and around the perimeter of a large concrete water-outlet tower at the center of the dam.

We spent the first three hours of this 5 1/2-hour outing inside the major feeder-creek arm, which yielded a mixed bag of 21 largemouth bass and spotted bass.

Two largemouth bass, one spotted bass, and three white bass were caught in three to five feet of water around a couple of large submerged beds of Eurasian milfoil on the east side of an island. This island is located in the lower end of the creek arm. Its terrain is flat and comprised of red clay, small gravel, flat rocks, numerous sandstone boulders, a few large patches of Eurasian milfoil, and a couple of medium-size laydowns. The remainder of the island’s perimeter was fruitless.

Two more largemouth bass and one spotted bass were caught in three to five feet of water from a flat rock- and boulder-laden secondary shoreline situated on the north side of the creek arm and just east of the island.

The other 15 largemouth bass and spotted bass were extracted from six feet of water or less from five flat secondary points on the south side and lower portion of the creek arm. Their submerged terrains are composed of small gravel, chunky rocks, some clusters of boulders, a few laydowns, some standing timber, and several large patches of Eurasian milfoil. These black bass were relating mostly to either patches of chunky rocks or around the ends of a couple of large laydowns. One of the 15 black bass was caught from the top of a large patch of milfoil in about six feet of water.

We failed to garner any strikes from a rocky secondary shoreline and its adjacent secondary point in the upper end of the creek arm.

We caught four largemouth bass in five to 11 feet of water from a cluster of boulders along the base of one of the three bluff points. We failed to elicit any strikes from the other two bluff points and a minor riprap-laden main-lake shoreline next to one of the bluff points.

From the main-lake bluff points and the riprap main-lake shoreline, we moved a short distance to the dam. This dam is 14,980 feet long and 141 feet high. It is blanketed with riprap. The center of the dam features a large concrete water-outlet tower with a walkway extending out to the tower from the top of the dam. The tower is surrounded by 37 to 53 feet of water. The walkway is about 30 yards long and is supported by two concrete support columns.

We shared the large water-outlet tower with another boat angler, and we failed to elicit any strikes around it.

Next to one of the two concrete support columns underneath the walkway to the tower that stands in about six feet of water, we caught one largemouth bass and one spotted bass. The area around the other concrete support column was unproductive.

We finished the outing by probing about 40-percent of the riprap that covers the dam, and it wasn’t very productive; it yielded only two spotted bass and one channel catfish. These three fish were caught many yards apart from each other in three to seven feet of water and about 10 to 15 feet out from the water’s edge.

In total, 11 of these 27 black bass were allured by a moderate-paced swimming retrieve with a three-inch Z-Man’s cisco-disco Slim SwimZ matched with a black 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. Eight were tempted by a swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ rigged on a red 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig. Four were induced by a slow swim-and-constant-shake presentation with a Z-Man’s blue-steel Finesse ShadZ affixed on a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig. Two more were enticed by a slow swimming retrieve with a 3 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pearl GrubZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig, and another two were inveigled by a swimming retrieve with a shad-colored plastisol swimbait rigged on an 1/8-ounce fish-head shaped jig.

We failed to elicit any strikes with several other Midwest finesse lures, a drop-shot rig sporting a four-inch green-pumpkin plastisol finesse worm, and a white 3/4-ounce jigging spoon.

July 15

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his July 15 outing with his cousin Rick Hebenstreit of Shawnee, Kansas, at a 94-year-old state reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 64 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 89 degrees. The wind was calm and variable, and it also angled out of the northeast and north at 3 to 7 mph. The sky was fair, mostly cloudy, and partly cloudy. The barometric pressure was 30.14 at 12:52 a.m., 30.13 at 5:52 a.m., 30.14 at 11:52 a.m., and 30.14 at 1:52 p.m.

The water level looked to be about a foot above normal. The surface temperature was 86 degrees. The water exhibited more than nine feet of clarity. Massive patches of brittle naiad and coontail coat much of the underwater terrain of the shallow-water flats and shorelines. Patches of American water willows grace some of the shorelines, but many of these once thick and bountiful patches have disappeared.

This exurban reservoir is usually heavily fished. When we arrived, the parking area was jam-packed with boat trailers and tow vehicles, but when we left, there was only one tow vehicle and trailer in the parking lot.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 11:37 a.m. to 1:37 p.m., 12:06 p.m. to 2:06 p.m., and 5:52 a.m. to 7:52 a.m.

We made our first casts at 9:55 a.m. and our last ones at 1:55 p.m. During these 240 minutes, we caught 73 largemouth bass.

One of the 73 largemouth bass was caught on a shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s dirt Finesse WormZ attached to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. Two of the 73 largemouth bass were caught on a 3.5-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin GrubZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. A shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s purple-haze Finesse WormZ attached to a blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig caught 12 largemouth bass. A shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s watermelon-red Finesse WormZ attached to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig caught 12 largemouth bass. A shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s pumpkin Finesse WormZ attached to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig caught 12 largemouth bass. A 2.75-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD attached to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig inveigled 34 largemouth bass.

Along the entire east shoreline of one of this reservoir’s primary feeder-creek arm, we caught 18 largemouth bass. This shoreline possesses a 25- to 55-degree slope. It is about 900 yards long and has three secondary points and one tertiary point. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, and an ancient rock fence. Portions of this terrain are decorated with brittle naiad, coontail, and a few manmade piles of brush. The water’s edge is enhanced with a few patches of American water willows, several well-aged laydowns, a dilapidated catfish feeder, and many overhanging trees. The overhanging trees shaded the water along this shoreline. The outside edges of many of the American water willows are intertwined with brittle naiad. The pumpkin Finesse WormZ rig caught nine of the 18 largemouth bass; the watermelon-red Finesse WormZ caught eight of the 18 largemouth bass; the purple-haze Finesse WormZ rig caught one largemouth bass. We caught them on three presentations: the initial drop, a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation, and a drag-pause-and-shake presentation. Some of the patches of coontail are so thick that we could drag our rigs across the tops of them. We caught largemouth bass at these areas: deep rocky locations that are many feet from patches of aquatic vegetation, along the edges of the American water willows, amongst patches of submerged coontail and brittle naiad, and in the shade of the overhanging trees. They were caught in water as shallow as four feet and as deep as 16 feet.

Across a massive shallow-water flat in the back of this feeder-creek arm, we struggled to catch two largemouth bass. It is the size of several football fields. Two small and submerged creek channels crisscross it. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and silt. Sections of it are enhanced with large patches of coontail. One area, which is slightly larger than a football field, is graced with a patch of American lotus; the size of this patch has diminished this year. Around the dense patches of coontail, we caught the two largemouth bass; one was caught on the initial drop of the green-pumpkin GrubZ rig in about six feet of water; the second largemouth bass was caught on a slow-swimming presentation with the purple-haze Finesse WormZ in about five to six feet of water.

We caught 11 largemouth bass along the entire west shoreline of this feeder-creek arm. This shoreline is more than 800 yards long. This shoreline has a 30- to 50-degree slope. It is graced with two secondary points. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, and some silt; much of this terrain is endowed with patches of brittle naiad and coontail. A submerged creek channel parallels portions of this shoreline. The water’s edge is enhanced with some patches of American water willows, several laydowns, and a few overhanging trees. The outside edges of the American water willows are often intertwined with brittle naiad and coontail. The dirt Finesse WormZ rig lured one of the 11 largemouth bass. The pumpkin Finesse WormZ rig enticed three of the 11 largemouth bass. The green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD rig inveigled three of the 11 largemouth bass. Four of the 11 largemouth bass were caught on the watermelon-red Finesse WormZ rig. Two were caught as we were strolling with a drag-pause-and-shake in the submerged creek channel. Four were caught on the initial drop of our rigs. A slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation caught five of the 11 largemouth bass. They were caught in water as shallow as three to four feet to as deep as 11 to 15 feet.

After we fished this feeder-creek’s western shoreline, we fished around the main-lake point and this point’s main-lake shoreline. The main-lake point has a 55-degree slope. The main-lake shoreline has a 50- to 85-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. Some of the boulders along the main-lake shoreline are humongous. This shoreline is about 350 yards long, and it eventually merges with the dam and spillway. These underwater terrains are covered with occasional piles of tree branches and patches of brittle naiad and coontail. Some of the water’s edges are lined with patches of American water willows, several overhanging trees, a few dilapidated laydowns, and a very shallow-water patch of cattails, which are dying. Our green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD rigs caught 12 largemouth bass. One was caught around the main-lake point, and 11 were caught along the main-lake shoreline. Six were caught on the initial drop in about four to five feet of water, and six were caught on a very slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in about five to 13 feet of water.

The dam is 1,240 feet long. The shoreline has about a 55-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are occasionally embellished with patches of coontail and brittle naiad. There are a few piles of eastern red cedar trees enhancing the underwater terrain. The water’s edge possesses a water-outlet tower and occasional shallow-water patches of American water willows. The dam is often fruitless; therefore, we rarely fish it. But today it yielded 11 largemouth bass. All of them were lured by our green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD rig. One was caught in about 11 feet of water on the initial drop along the outside edge of the water-outlet tower. The other 10 were caught along the shoreline; five were caught on the initial drop in three to four feet of water; three were caught on a drag-pause-and-shake presentation in about five to 10 feet of water; two were caught on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in five to 10 feet of water.

Along about a 300-yard stretch of the main-lake shoreline adjacent to the eastern end of the dam, we caught three largemouth bass. This shoreline has a 45-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, patches of coontail and brittle naiad, and some manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees. The shoreline has two manmade jetties that consist of rocks and concrete rubble; there are also a few overhanging trees. We caught three largemouth bass along this shoreline with our green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD rigs; one was caught on the initial drop in the shade of one of the overhanging trees in about five feet of water; the second one was caught around the tip of one of the jetties on a dragging presentation in about six to seven feet of water; the third one was caught on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation around patches of coontail in about six feet of water.

The back of this reservoir’s second primary feeder-creek arm, we quickly fished around portions of a massive shallow-water flat, which is the size of many football fields. It is endowed with four submerged creek channels, a small island, several humps, and a few minor ledges. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, and silt. Portions of the submerged creek channels are silt-laden. Brittle naiad, coontail, and many manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees adorn the underwater terrain of this massive flat. We caught four largemouth bass. One was caught on the green-pumpkin GrubZ rig with a swimming presentation over patches of coontail. Three were caught on our green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD rigs; one was caught accidentally while we were slowly strolling across massive mounds of coontail; the other two were caught on the initial drop around thick patches of coontail.

Along about a 350-yard stretch of the eastern shoreline inside this primary feeder-creek arm, we caught seven largemouth bass. The slope of this shoreline ranges from about 30 to 50 degrees. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders; much of it is coated with patches of brittle naiad and coontail. A few manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees also enhance the underwater terrain. The water’s edge is lined with patches of American water willows, many overhanging trees, a few piles of tree limbs, and several laydowns. Four of the seven largemouth bass were caught around the shade created by the overhanging trees. The other three were caught around the patches of brittle naiad and coontail. Two of the largemouth bass were lured by the green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD rig, and five were caught on the purple-haze Finesse WormZ rig. Four were caught on the initial drop of these rigs, and three were caught on a slow swimming presentation. They were caught in water as shallow as three feet and as deep as nine feet.

We caught one largemouth bass around a main-lake point at the mouth of a small feeder-creek arm. This point has a 35-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders; it is festooned with patches of brittle naiad, coontail, and some manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees. The water’s edge is embellished with American water willows and one laydown. The purple-haze Finesse WormZ rig hooked the largemouth bass on the initial drop in about five feet of water around a patch of coontail.

Along the short section of the secondary shoreline adjacent to this main-lake point and inside this small feeder-creek arm, we caught three largemouth bass. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and some boulders, which are embellished with a manmade pile of tree limbs and significant patches of brittle naiad and coontail. The water’s edge of the shoreline has a 25- to 40-degree slope. It is endowed with patches of American water willows, which are intertwined with patches of brittle naiad, coontail, and several submerged tree limbs. The purple-haze Finesse WormZ rig with a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation inveigled the three largemouth bass around the large patches of coontail in five to seven feet of water.

We caught one largemouth on a shallow-water flat inside the small feeder-creek arm. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and silt. Segments of the underwater terrain are endowed with patches of brittle naiad and coontail. This flat is about the size of a football field. We quickly fished about 15 percent of this flat. The largemouth bass was caught on the initial drop of the green-pumpkin-goby the Finesse TRD rig in about eight feet of water around patches of coontail.

Along a short section of the main-lake shoreline near the boat ramp and one of the ramp’s two docks, we caught one largemouth bass. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, and significant patches of brittle naiad and coontail. There is also a long pile of rocks that borders a ledge adjacent to a drop-off. The water’s edge of the shoreline has a 25- to 30- degree slope. It has two manmade jetties and shallow-water patches of American water willows intertwined with patches of brittle naiad and coontail. A slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation with the purple-haze Finesse WormZ enticed the largemouth bass around the outside edge of a patch of coontail and near the rock piles in about seven feet of water.

In sum, we caught an average of 18 largemouth bass per hour and one about every 3 ½ minutes.

July 15

Bob Gum of Kansas City, Kansas, posted a brief on the Finesse News Network about his July 15 outing at a 57-year-old federal reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 64 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 89 degrees. The wind was calm and variable, and when it stirred, it angled out of the northeast and north at 3 to 7 mph. The sky was fair, mostly cloudy, and partly cloudy. The barometric pressure was 30.14 at 12:52 a.m., 30.13 at 5:52 a.m., 30.14 at 11:52 a.m., and 30.14 at 1:52 p.m.

The water level was 3.28 feet above normal. The dam was releasing 1,000 cubic feet per second. The surface temperature was 84 degrees. The water clarity was surprisingly good with about 2.5 feet in most locales. There was an algae bloom and surface scum in some areas. The surface scum made the current more apparent, especially under one of the bridges.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 11:37 a.m. to 1:37 p.m., 12:06 p.m. to 2:06 p.m., and 5:52 a.m. to 7:52 a.m.

I made my first casts around 6:00 a.m. and my last one at 11:30 a.m. I spent these 5 ½ hours in the lower quarter of this reservoir.

I started my day fishing along some of the riprap shoreline of a causeway and bridge inside one of this reservoir’s major feeder-creek arms. I also fished along the adjacent shoreline to the causeway. I tangled with a sizeable largemouth bass and smallmouth bass until they became unfettered from my Midwest finesse rig.

Then, I fished around several of this feeder creek’s points and along many yards of its shorelines. The underwater terrain of these points and shorelines is embellished with gravel, rocks, and boulders.

The rest of the outing was spent dissecting several main-lake points along the eastern shoreline of the reservoir’s primary arm and fishing along about a 200-yard stretch of the riprap shoreline of the dam adjacent to its water outlet tower.

My most effective Midwest finesse rigs were a 3.5-inch Z-Man’s hot-snakes TRD MinnowZ affixed to a black 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig and a 2 ½-inch Z-Man’s California-craw Finesse TRD attached to a blue 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig.

I caught most of the fish in two to eight feet of water, using a swim-and-glide presentation. I caught 32 fish: 12 smallmouth bass, nine largemouth bass, eight freshwater drum, two saugeye, and one crappie.

July 16

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted this log on the Finesse News Network about his morning outing at a federal hill-land reservoir in north-central Texas with Norman Brown of Lewisville, Texas, on July 16.

It was overcast and humid. The morning’s low temperature was a pleasant 74 degrees, and the afternoon’s high warmed to 88 degrees. The barometric pressure measured 30.05 at 6:00 a.m., and it rose slightly to 30.08 by 10:00 a.m. A mild breeze quartered out of the south-by-southeast at 5 to 10 mph, which seemed to help negate some of the annoying humidity.

The water level was at normal pool. The water clarity was 18 inches. The surface temperature ranged from 83 to 85 degrees.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar table noted that fishing would be average. It also indicated that the most lucrative fishing would occur between 12:46 a.m. and 2:46 a.m., 6:59 a.m. and 8:59 a.m., and 1:13 p.m. to 3:13 p.m.

We fished from 6:30 a.m. to about 10:30 a.m.

We spent these four hours in the lower region of a major tributary arm in the southwest quadrant of this reservoir. The black-bass fishing was delightful, and we reveled in grappling with 40 black bass. Twenty-four of them were spotted bass and 16 were largemouth bass. We also inadvertently caught three freshwater drum and one white bass.

We caught 20 largemouth and spotted bass around large submerged boulders and patches of chunky rocks in two to 10 feet of water from four conspicuous main-lake points. Eleven largemouth bass and spotted bass were caught in the lower and middle sections of a minor feeder-creek arm. They were abiding in two to eight feet of water, and they were relating to shallow clusters of chunky rocks and boulders that adorn the secondary points, shorelines, and a secondary bluff inside the creek arm. These points have steep inclines that vary from 45 to 60 degrees.

However, four spotted bass and one largemouth bass were also caught around patches of chunky rocks and large submerged boulders in three to 11 feet of water across a 75-yard boulder-laden main-lake bluff. Four others were caught in less than five feet of water from the perimeter of a main-lake island that possesses a flat terrain comprised of clay, small gravel, and small groupings of chunk rock.

All of these areas had attracted significant numbers of threadfin shad, which is a key element for us to locate and allure large numbers of black bass in the federal and state reservoirs in north-central Texas.

We caught 18 of these 40 black bass on a steady-swimming retrieve with a Z-Man’s California Craw TRD TicklerZ rigged on a red 1/16-ounce finesse mushroom-style jig. Ten were tempted by a 4.75-inch Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse WormZ that was whittled down to four inches and rigged on a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. This rig was employed with a slow swim-and-constant-shake retrieve. Seven were enticed by either the initial fall or a moderate-paced swimming retrieve with a three-inch Z-Man’s Space Guppy Slim SwimZ affixed on a blue 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig. Another four preferred a 3 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pearl GrubZ matched with a chartreuse 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig and implemented with a slow-paced swimming retrieve. And one spotted bass engulfed a Z-Man’s blue-steel Finesse ShadZ fastened on a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig, which was utilized with a slow swim-and-constant-shake retrieve.

In conclusion, this outing mirrored a similar outing on July 3 at this same reservoir, during which Bill Kenney of Denton and I beguiled 43 largemouth bass and spotted bass in four hours.

July 17

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his July 17 outing with Rick Hebenstreit of Shawnee, Kansas, at an 86-year-old community reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

The National Weather Service reported the morning’s low temperature was 72 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 89 degrees. The sky was fair, partly cloudy, and cluttered with a few clouds. The wind was variable and calm at times; it also angled from the south and southwest at 3 to 8 mph; there was one 17-mph gust of wind. The barometric pressure was 30.09 at 12:53 a.m., 30:09 at 5:53 a.m., 30.13 at 11:53 a.m., and 30.09 at 1:53 p.m.

The water level looked to be slightly above normal. The surface temperature was 88 degrees. The water looked as if it was afflicted with a minor algal bloom, and it exhibited about 3 ½ to 4 ½ feet of clarity. Vast patches of bushy pondweeds and coontail are coating many acres of the underwater terrain; some of these patches are thriving in 10 to 15 feet of water. Floating and thick wads of filamentous algae and patches of duckweeds are covering the surface of most of the water’s edges along this reservoir’s shorelines: some of these patches and wads are more than 15 feet wide. We spent a lot of time fishing the outside edges of the floating duckweeds and filamentous algae to no avail.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 1:36 a.m. to 3:26 a.m., 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., and 7:48 a.m. to 9:48 a.m.

We made our first casts at 9:53 a.m. and our last ones at 1:53 p.m. We caught 63 largemouth bass and two bluegill.

One of the 63largemouth bass was caught on a shortened Z-Man’s hot-snakes Finesse TRD attached to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. Two were caught on a Z-Man’s yoga-pants Finesse TRD attached to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. Three were caught on a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD affixed to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. A slightly shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse WormZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead inveigled 22 largemouth bass. A 3 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin GrubZ affixed to either a red or chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jighead caught 35 largemouth bass.

We began this outing by fishing along about a 50-yard section of the main-lake shoreline immediately adjacent to the west end of the dam. It has about a 30-to 40-degree slope. Its water’s edge has two docks and many patches of floating duckweeds and filamentous algae. Along the front edge of one of the docks, we caught one largemouth bass in about 12 feet of water with a deadstick presentation with the hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig.

We spent about 45 minutes dissecting the dam’s shoreline, which is 516 yards long. The dam has a height of 58 feet with a 45- to 50-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are coated with many patches of coontail. The water’s edge contains a concrete water outlet tower, a few patches of American water willows that have been afflicted by an herbicide spray, and many floating and thick wads of filamentous algae and patches of wilted duckweeds. The initial drop of the green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD rig caught the largemouth bass along the outside edge of the floating filamentous algae and duckweeds in about six to seven feet of water.

We fished along the main-lake shoreline that is adjacent to the eastern end of the dam. This shoreline looks to be about 500 yards long. Its water’s edge is endowed with a boat ramp, a spillway, three tertiary points, 13 docks, several retaining walls, some patches of American water willows, and many floating and thick wads of filamentous algae and wilted patches of duckweeds. It is also enhanced with a series of offshore humps and ledges. This area has a 20- to 45-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. This terrain is coated with many patches of coontail and some patches of bushy pondweeds. We fished about 350 yards of this shoreline. In the vicinity of the spillway, the green-pumpkin-goby rig caught two largemouth bass. The first largemouth bass was caught on a strolling-and-dragging presentation in 10 to 12 feet of water; the second one was caught on the initial drop in about six feet of water. The yoga-pants Finesse TRD tousled with a largemouth bass in about four feet of water on top of a large offshore hump with a swim-and-pause presentation.

In the lower half of the reservoir, we failed to garner a strike around three main-lake points.

Between two of the fruitless main-lake points, we eked out six largemouth bass along a massive main-lake shoreline. This area looks to be about 800 yards long. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. There is also a ledge, which is many feet from the water’s edge and adjacent to deep water. Portions of the ledge are enhanced with gigantic boulders. Much of the underwater terrain is embellished with bushy pondweeds, coontail, and manmade piles of tree limbs. It possesses a 35- to 50-degree slope. The water’s edge is lined with several concrete and stone retaining walls, a few overhanging trees, some patches of American water willows, 27 docks, and many floating and thick wads of filamentous algae and patches of wilted duckweeds. The yoga-pants Finesse TRD rig caught one largemouth bass around the outside corner of one of the docks with a swimming presentation; this dock’s corner was floating in 15 feet of water. The Junebug Finesse WormZ rig inveigled five of the six largemouth bass. Two were caught on the initial drop around patches of coontail and bushy pondweeds in about six feet of water, and three were caught on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in six to 11 feet of water.

We spent about one hour and 45 minutes fishing the lower half of the reservoir and struggled to catch 11 largemouth bass. We spent the next two hours and 15 minutes in the upper half of the reservoir, where we caught 52 largemouth bass.

We caught 10 of the 52 largemouth bass along about a 500-yard main-lake shoreline and around two of its three main-lake points. It has a 30- to 45-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rock, and boulders, which are coated with thick and deep-water patches of coontail. The water’s edge is endowed with 14 docks, patches of American water willows, one overhanging walnut tree, and a few piles of tree limbs. Most sections of the surface of the water’s edge are covered with immense patches of floating duckweeds, as well as some wads of filamentous algae. The duckweeds were not wilted; instead, they exhibited a brilliant green hue. The 10 largemouth bass were caught many yards from the water’s edge on our Junebug Finesse WormZ rigs. Three were caught by strolling and dragging the Finesse WormZ rig along the tops of the deep-water patches of coontail. Three were caught on the initial drop of the rig around the deep-water patches of coontail. Four were caught on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation around the deep-water patches of coontail.

We finished this outing in the upper half of the reservoir by fishing along a massive main-lake shoreline and the huge shallow-water flat that borders the upper reaches of this shoreline. The shoreline looks to be about 800 yards long. The underwater terrain of this shoreline’s steeper section consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, and its flatter and shallower section consists of silt. Much of this underwater terrain is decorated with many patches of coontail and bushy pondweeds. There are also a few underwater PVC fish attractors and some manmade piles of submerged tree limbs. The shoreline possesses a 20- to 60-degree slope. The water’s edge consists of several stone and concrete retaining walls, 10 docks, one small rock bridge, a few minor laydowns, several piles of brush, patches of American water willows, several overhanging trees, and vast patches of floating and green duckweeds, which are occasionally intertwined with wads of filamentous algae.

Along the steeper section of this shoreline, we caught seven largemouth bass on our Junebug Finesse WormZ rigs; three were caught as we were strolling and dragging it in 10 to 12 feet of water; two were caught on the initial drop; two were caught on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation.

Along the flatter section of the shoreline and across its adjacent shallow-water flat, we caught 35 largemouth bass on our green-pumpkin GrubZ rigs. They were caught in about 4 ½ to six feet of water on either the initial drop of the rig or a swimming presentation. (It is interesting to note that Rick hooked a largemouth bass on the initial drop, and after this bass jumped and became unfettered from the GrubZ, Rick hooked another largemouth bass when the GrubZ hit the surface again and began to sink.) All of these largemouth bass were caught many yards from the shoreline.

In sum, we caught an average of about 15 largemouth bass per hour. But during the final two hours and 15 minutes, we caught an average of 23 largemouth bass per hour.

July 21

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted this log on the Finesse News Network about his July 21 outing with Bill Kenney of Denton at a federal reservoir in north-central Texas.

From 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., I fished at our most challenging federal reservoir in north-central Texas. Bill Kenney joined me at 9:00 a.m. I last fished at this reservoir on June 7 with Norman Brown of Lewisville, Texas, and it turned out to be an average outing; we caught 15 largemouth bass and two spotted bass between 6:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

The morning of July 21 was sunny, hot, and humid. The sky was cloudless. The morning’s low temperature was 84 degrees, and the afternoon’s high soared to a scorching 105 degrees with a heat index of 115 degrees. The barometric pressure measured 29.84 at 6:00 a.m., and it rose slightly to 29.86 by 11:00 a.m. A gentle breeze quartered out of the south-by-southwest at 3 to 5 mph.

According to In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar, the fishing was forecasted to be poor on July 21. It also indicated that the best fishing would occur from 4:05 a.m. to 6:05 a.m., 10:16 a.m. to 12:16 p.m., and 4:27 p.m. to 6:27 p.m.

The water exhibited between 1 1/2 and four feet of visibility. The water temperature ranged from 83 to 85 degrees. The water level was at its normal pool.

While I was waiting for Bill to arrive at 9:00 a.m., I decided to fish in the lower end of the reservoir. I spent these first three hours probing the perimeter of a main-lake island, seven rocky main-lake points, and segments of three flat and rock-laden main-lake shorelines. I also investigated a water-outlet tower near the midsection of the dam. After Bill joined me, we dissected about 75 yards of the riprap that covers the dam before we meandered inside a feeder-creek arm. Inside the feeder-creek arm, we fished at two secondary shorelines, two secondary points, and along the side of a long metal wave-barrier. We also fished along a rock bluff and a floating tractor-tire reef inside another feeder-creek arm.

There isn’t any aquatic vegetation in this reservoir. The underwater terrain of this reservoir consists primarily of red clay, silt, gravel, fist-size rocks, and sandstone boulders.

I caught two largemouth bass and nine white bass from the perimeter of a main-lake island. This island’s shallow-water areas are composed of clay and gravel with a flat terrain. The shallow-water areas are embellished with some patches of flooded stickups, stumps, and a few minor laydowns.

I intentionally caught nine white bass when I first arrived at the island. They began to briefly forge on pods of small threadfin shad on the surface of the water and near the boat just as the sun began to rise on the horizon. They were caught many yards from the water’s edge in 12 to 21 feet of water along the north side of the island. They were caught just below the water’s surface with a three-inch Z-Man’s cisco-disco Slim SwimZ rigged on a blue 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig and a fast-paced swimming presentation. The two largemouth bass were caught shortly after the white bass disappeared. These two largemouth bass were also caught from the north side of the island, but they were shallower than the white bass and were abiding within 15 to 20 feet of the water’s edge and in three to five feet of water. They were enticed by the three-inch cisco-disco Slim SwimZ rig and the fast-paced swimming retrieve. I also fished around the east, south, and west sides of the island, but these areas were devoid of any white bass, largemouth bass, spotted bass, and smallmouth bass.

From the island, I travelled about 1 1/2 miles eastward to the dam, where I dissected the walls of a concrete water-outlet tower.

This concrete outlet tower is positioned near the center of the dam, and it is surrounded by 35 to 47 feet of water. The shaded west-side wall of the tower yielded four largemouth bass. They were suspended about five to eight feet below the surface and within a foot or two of the tower’s wall. They were caught with a slow swim-and-constant-shake retrieve parallel to the tower’s wall with a Z-Man’s pearl TRD TicklerZ matched with a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig. The other three walls of the tower were exposed to bright sunshine, and I failed to elicit any strikes from those three walls.

I decided to wait until Bill arrived before fishing the riprap on the dam.

From the dam, I moved a short distance to a shaded rocky main-lake shoreline. This shoreline is flat, about 75 yards long, and cluttered with mostly fist-size rocks and a few small boulders. The shaded portions of this shoreline surrendered seven largemouth bass. They were extracted from less than five feet of water and about 10 to 15 feet from the water’s edge. Five of them were induced by a moderate-paced swimming retrieve with the three-inch Z-Man’s cisco-disco Slim SwimZ rig. One was caught on a moderate-paced swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ attached to a chartreuse 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig. The seventh one engulfed the pearl TRD TicklerZ rig as it was being manipulated with a slow swim-and-constant-shake retrieve.

After that, I began making my way back to the boat ramp to meet Bill. Along the way, I stopped and fished along a 50-yard stretch of a rocky main-lake shoreline and around six rocky main-lake points with flat terrains, and I failed to elicit any strikes from any of those areas.

At 9:00 a.m., I picked Bill up at the boat ramp, and we returned to the dam to fish its submerged riprap. The dam forms this reservoir’s eastern boundary. It is 12,850 feet long and 137 feet high. It has about a 50-degree slope. We slowly dissected about 100 yards of the submerged riprap nearest to the water outlet tower that I had fished earlier, and we caught only one freshwater drum in seven feet of water with a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation with a 1.75-inch Z-Man’s blue-glimmer Fuzzy BugZ rigged on a blue 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig.

Next, we travelled into the middle section of a major feeder-creek arm just west of the dam.

We focused our attention on two shaded rocky secondary shorelines with flat terrains on the east side and in the middle section of the creek arm, a rocky secondary point on the west side of the creek arm, around some clusters of large floating tractor tires, and portions of a long floating metal wave barrier at the entrance to the creek arm. This creek arm yielded only one freshwater drum. It was caught in three feet of water from the side of a minor rocky secondary point with a Z-Man’s California-craw TRD TicklerZ fastened to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig that was employed with a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation. A more prominent boulder-laden secondary point on the west side of the creek arm failed to yield any strikes. We also failed to elicit any strikes around the clusters of large floating tractor tires, and portions of the long floating metal wave barrier at the entrance to this creek arm.

We finished this outing by slowly dissecting a rock bluff and a floating tractor-tire reef at the mouth of another feeder-creek arm in the lower end of the reservoir. The rock bluff yielded one freshwater drum and one large bluegill that were caught in five to seven feet of water around some large boulders that adorn the base of the bluff. They were caught on a slow swim-and-constant-shake presentation with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pumpkin-chartreuse ZinkerZ affixed on a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig. Unfortunately, the rock bluff and the floating tractor-tire reef were bereft of black bass.

In closing, the fishing was slow and difficult; we caught a total of 13 largemouth bass, nine white bass, three freshwater drum, and one large bluegill in five hours. All 13 of the largemouth bass and the nine white bass were caught between 6:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. After that, we caught only three freshwater drum and one bluegill between 8:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.

July 22

Ned and Pat Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a brief on the Finesse News Network about their short outing on July 22 at a 64-year-old state reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 64 degrees. The afternoon’s high temperature was 80 degrees. The wind was calm at times, and at other times it angled out of the northeast and north at 3 to 10 mph. There was one 17-mph gust of wind. The sky was fair. The barometric pressure was 30.03 at 12:52 a.m., 30.08 at 5:52 a.m., 30,12 at 11:52 a.m., and 30.10 at 1:52 p.m.

The water level looked to be about normal. The surface temperature was 88 degrees. Some areas exhibited an eruption of an algal bloom. Along the dam, the water exhibited three to five feet of visibility. On a massive shallow-water flat in the back of the primary feeder-creek arm, the visibility was about 18 inches.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would occur from 5:33 a.m. to 7:33 a.m., 5:56 p.m. to 7:56 p.m., and 11:22 a.m. to 1:22 p.m.

We had not fished together since May 27, and on this unusually cool July day, we decided to fish between 11:22 a.m. and 1:22 p.m., which the Solunar calendar indicated to be one of the best times to fish. But for us, it was a struggle to catch 19 dingy largemouth bass and accidentally catch one channel catfish, one bluegill, and one green sunfish.

We quickly fished portions of the riprap shoreline of the dam, which lies along the north side of this reservoir. It is 2,280 feet long and 58 feet high with a 55- to 65-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. This underwater terrain is coated with several thick patches of bushy pondweeds and coontail. The water’s edge possesses five tiny patches of American water willows and several small piles of tree limbs and logs. We caught one largemouth bass on the initial drop of a Z-Man’s hot-snakes Finesse TRD attached to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jighead in about four feet of water. A shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ attached to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jighead caught four largemouth bass: one was caught on the initial drop in about three to four feet of water; three were caught on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in about six to 10 feet of water.

We caught five largemouth bass about a 400-yard stretch of the shoreline adjacent to the eastern side of the dam. It has a 25- to 35-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and silt, and portions of its shallow areas are coated with submerged patches of bushy pondweeds and coontail. This underwater terrain is also enhanced by several manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees. The water’s edge is endowed with some patches of American water willows, four riprap jetties, a short stretch of riprap, one concrete boat ramp, one overhanging tree, and one dock. Two were caught on the hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig with a swim-glide-shake presentation around the patches of submerged vegetation in five to six feet of water. A shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse WormZ attached to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jighead caught three largemouth bass; one was caught on a dragging presentation while we were strolling around a jetty in about 10 feet of water; two were caught on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation around the submerged aquatic vegetation.

We eked out one largemouth bass on a shallow-water flat in the back of a feeder-creek arm. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and a lot of silt. Portions of its shallow areas are coated with submerged patches of bushy pondweeds, coontail, one shallow-water island that is embellished with a thick patch of American water willow, many manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees, and a submerged creek channel. Portions of the creek channel are laden with silt. The largemouth bass was caught on the Junebug Finesse WormZ rig with a swim-glide-and-subtle-shake presentation along the edge of the submerged creek channel.

We caught one largemouth bass across an offshore section of a massive shallow-water flat in the back of this reservoir’s primary feeder-creek arm. This flat is the size of many football fields. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and silt. A submerged creek channel meanders around and across sections of this flat. Portions of the underwater terrain are adorned with patches of sago pondweeds, bushy pondweeds, and coontail. Many manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees also decorate this flat and the border of the submerged creek channel. The largemouth bass was caught on the initial drop of the hot-snakes Finesse TRD in about six feet of water near a submerged red cedar tree and the edge of the submerged creek channel.

Along about a 500-yard stretch of the west shoreline of the primary feeder-creek arm, we caught five largemouth bass. It has a 35- to 65-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, and silt, which are regularly enhanced with submerged patches of bushy pondweeds, coontail, and a manmade pile of eastern red cedar trees. Its water’s edge is bedizened with patches of American water willows and American pondweeds, numerous laydowns, and a few overhanging trees. A submerged creek channel parallels segments of the shoreline. One of the five largemouth bass was caught on the initial drop of the hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig in about five feet of water next to a laydown. Four of the five largemouth bass were caught on the Junebug Finesse WormZ rig with a swim-glide-and-shake presentation around the patches of submerged bushy pondweeds and coontail.

We ended this short and trying outing along about a 200-yard stretch of a shallow-water shoreline adjacent to the west end of the dam. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and silt, which are coated with patches of bushy pondweeds, coontail, and a few manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees. The water’s edge is endowed with patches of American pondweeds, American water willows, and remnants of a large and dilapidated dock. Our green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ rigs inveigled both of the largemouth bass; one was caught on the initial drop of the Finesse WormZ rig near a submerged red cedar tree and around one of the metal poles of a dilapidated dock in about four to five feet of water; the second one was caught with a swim-glide-and-shake presentation along the outside edge of a patch of bushy pondweeds in about six feet of water.

The National Weather Service is predicting the next five to six days will be extremely hot and humid, which will keep us octogenarians, who are midday anglers, at bay.

July 27

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted this report on the Finesse News Network about his July 27 outing at a north-central Texas state reservoir with Bill Kenney of Denton.

I joined Bill at a state reservoir in north-central Texas. We were surprised to see only one other fishing boat on the water, and it was a joy to fish without the ruckus of numerous jet skiers, water skiers, and wakeboarders scurrying about.

My previous excursion to this impoundment occurred on July 2, when Frank Gosnell of Sanger, Texas, and I fished it for five hours. We discovered that the black bass fishing was pretty decent, and we managed to inveigle a combination of 24 largemouth bass and spotted bass.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar forecasted great fishing for July 27. It also noted that the best fishing periods would occur between 3:18 a.m. and 5:18 a.m., 9:31 a.m. and 11:31 a.m., and 9:56 p.m. and 11:56 p.m.

The morning was partly cloudy and sunny. The morning’s low temperature was a pleasant 75 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature soared to 102 degrees. The barometric pressure decreased a tad from 29.88 at 6:00 a.m. to 29.87 at 11:00 a.m. The wind quartered out of the south-by-southwest at 5 to 15 mph.

We fished from about 6:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

We targeted 11 rocky main-lake points, four rocky main-lake shorelines, and a main-lake island located in the lower section of the reservoir. In the reservoir’s upper end, we concentrated on a riprap jetty, another main-lake island, and two rock bluffs.

The underwater terrain of these areas consists of red clay, gravel, chunky rocks, and boulders. Some of the points and shorelines are graced with partially flooded buck brush, stickups, overhanging trees, and some laydowns.

The water clarity was four feet, and the surface temperature ranged from 83 to 85 degrees. The water level at this reservoir has been slowly dropping, and it was 4.87 feet below normal pool today.

One of the two main-lake islands that we fished is at the lower end of the reservoir. Its shoreline is flat and cluttered with baseball-size rocks, boulders, and flooded stickups. It yielded three largemouth bass and two spotted bass that were caught in less than five feet of water around the outside edges of the patches of flooded stickups and chunky rocks on the east side of the island. Three largemouth bass were caught on a moderate-paced swimming retrieve with a three-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ affixed on a blue 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig. The two spotted bass were induced by a 1.75-inch Z-Man’s glimmer-blue Fuzzy BugZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig and a slow swim-and-constant-shake retrieve. We failed to elicit any other strikes from the north, west, and south sides of the island.

The second island is situated in the middle section of the reservoir. We observed scores and scores of nesting white egrets in the trees on this island. The island’s shoreline is lined with boulders, a few overhanging trees, and some flooded stickups. We slowly dissected the entire perimeter of this island, and we failed to elicit a strike.

The 11 main-lake points that we investigated are on the reservoir’s east shoreline, and they stretch from the lower end of the shoreline to its upper end. Some are flat, and some are steep. Though most of them were entertaining significant aggregations of threadfin shad, they were surprisingly devoid of black bass. However, one side of one of the points yielded three largemouth bass and one spotted bass that were relating to a couple of large clusters of rocks and boulders in three to five feet of water. Two were coaxed into striking a Z-Man’s pearl TRD TicklerZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig. The other two were enticed by the chartreuse jig affixed to a glimmer-blue Fuzzy GrubZ rig. These two lures were utilized with either a slow swim-and-constant-shake presentation or a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation. One of the largemouth bass was caught on the initial drop of the glimmer-blue Fuzzy GrubZ rig.

The four main-lake shorelines are at the midsection of the reservoir’s east shoreline. They are not very steep. They have a 20- to 25-degree incline. The submerged terrain consists mostly of large chunky rocks and boulders. They range in length from about 25 to 50 yards. One of them yielded a largemouth bass, two spotted bass, and one channel catfish that were abiding near large boulders and rocks in three to 13 feet of water. These black bass were allured by two retrieves: a slow swimming retrieve and a slow drag-and-deadstick presentation while we were slowly strolling with the trolling motor and using a slightly shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ attached to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig, and a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation with the 1.75-inch glimmer-blue Fuzzy BugZ rig.

The other three main-lake shorelines were fruitless.

We failed to locate any black bass around a riprap-covered jetty in the upper portion of the reservoir. But we did catch one largemouth bass from a minor creek channel that parallels one side of the riprap jetty that is covered with 22 feet of water. This largemouth bass was caught in the bottom of the creek channel on a slow hop-and-bounce presentation with the glimmer-blue Fuzzy BugZ rig.

The two rock bluffs are located on the east side and in the midsection of the reservoir. One is located along the main-lake basin, and the second one is located along the north shoreline in the upper end of a major bay. The base of these two bluffs is adorned with scores and scores of large boulders and chunky rocks. They are also embellished with several boathouses.

One end of the main-lake rock bluff yielded two largemouth bass, one spotted bass, and one smallmouth bass. This bluff is about 100 yards long. They were abiding in five to 13 feet of water near some of the larger boulders along the base of the bluff. The two largemouth bass and the one smallmouth bass were allured by a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation with a 1.75-inch Z-Man’s glimmer-blue Fuzzy GrubZ matched with a blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig. The spotted bass was caught on the initial fall of the chartreuse jig affixed to a glimmer-blue Fuzzy GrubZ between a couple of large boulders. We failed to elicit any strikes from the remainder of this bluff and underneath and along the sides of four boathouses.

The second rock bluff inside the large bay yielded two spotted bass and one largemouth bass. This bluff is about 60 yards long. The largemouth bass and one of the spotted bass were caught simultaneously from underneath a boat house that is mounted on metal posts in 16 feet of water and situated at one end of the bluff. Both of them were caught on our glimmer-blue Fuzzy GrubZ rigs with a slow swim-glide-and-shake retrieve. Three other boat houses next to the first one were unproductive. The other spotted bass was caught in five feet of water near a cluster of large boulders at the base of the bluff on the initial drop of one of our Fuzzy GrubZ rigs.

In sum, it was a slow grind to inveigle 11 largemouth bass, eight spotted bass, and one smallmouth bass in five hours. We also inadvertently caught one channel catfish.

We failed to elicit any strikes with a three-inch Z-Man’s cisco-disco Slim SwimZ on a blue 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig, a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s slam-shady GrubZ on a blue 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse jig, a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pumpkin-chartreuse ZinkerZ fastened to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig, a 2.75-inch Z-Man’s glimmer-blue Fuzzy TRD with a Z-Man’s silver Colorado-blade TRD SpinZ inserted in its tail end, and rigged on a black 1/8-ounce mushroom-style jig, a green-pumpkin swim jig, and a large black and-chartreuse deep-diving crankbait.

July 30

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his July 30 outing with Nick Robertson of Overland Park, Kansas, at a 94-year-old state reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 73 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 82 degrees. The wind angled out of the east and southeast at 3 to 15 mph. The sky was mostly cloudy, partly cloudy, overcast, and raining. The barometric pressure was 29.95 at 12:52 a.m., 29.97 at 5:52 a.m., 29.98 at 11:52 a.m., and 29.97 at 2:52 p.m.

The water level looked to be about a foot above normal. The surface temperature was 85 degrees. The water exhibited more than nine feet of clarity. Massive patches of brittle naiad and coontail coat much of the underwater terrain of the shallow-water flats and shorelines. Patches of American water willows grace some of the shorelines, but many of these once thick and bountiful patches have disappeared.

This exurban reservoir is usually heavily fished. But there were only three boats afloat today.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 11:20 a.m. to 1:20 p.m., 11:42 p.m. to 1:42 a.m., and 5:31 a.m. to 7:31 a.m.

It sprinkled until a few minutes before we made our first casts at 12:03 p.m. Then a downpour erupted a few minutes after we made our last casts at 2:33 p.m., which was when we caught largemouth bass number 101. By 4:52 a.m. on July 31, Mother Nature’s rainy ways ultimately deposited more than two inches of precipitation upon some of the landscapes of northeastern Kansas and the watershed of this reservoir.

Three of the 101 largemouth bass were caught on a 2.75-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD attached to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. A Z-Man’s molting-craw TRD HogZ affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig inveigled eight largemouth bass. A radically shortened 6.5-inch purple-rain SMH WormZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig caught 24 largemouth bass. We caught 66 largemouth bass on a shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s pumpkin Finesse WormZ affixed to either a black or a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. The purple-rain SMH WormZ was shortened to 4 ½ inches, and the pumpkin Finesse WormZ was cut to four inches. Our Finesse WormZ rigs also caught one bluegill, one channel catfish, and three green sunfish.

The Finesse TRD rig is at the top of this photograph. The TRD HogZ rig is the second from the top. The SMH rig is the third rig from the top. The Finesse WormZ rig is at the bottom.

We began this outing by fishing around a main-lake point and its main-lake shoreline. The main-lake point has a 55-degree slope. The main-lake shoreline has a 50- to 85-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. Some of the boulders along the main-lake shoreline are humongous. This shoreline is about 350 yards long, and it eventually merges with the dam and spillway. These underwater terrains are covered with occasional piles of tree branches and patches of brittle naiad and coontail. Some of the water’s edges are lined with patches of American water willows, several overhanging trees, a few dilapidated laydowns, and a very shallow-water patch of cattails, which are dying. The pumpkin Finesse WormZ rig caught 10 largemouth bass, and 11 were caught on the purple-rain SMH WormZ rig. One was caught around the main-lake point, and 20 were caught along the main-lake shoreline. Eight were caught on the initial drop in about four to five feet of water. Five were caught on a drag-pause-and-shake presentation, and seven were caught on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in about five to 13 feet of water. Several times, our retrieves provoked from two to four strikes that we failed to hook, and there were a few times when we hooked a largemouth bass during those multiple-strike retrieves.

Along the shoreline of the dam, we caught 23 largemouth bass. It is 1,240 feet long and has about a 55-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are occasionally embellished with patches of coontail and brittle naiad. There are a few manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees decorating the underwater terrain. The water’s edge possesses a water-outlet tower and occasional shallow-water patches of American water willows. The pumpkin Finesse WormZ rig lured 13 of the 23 largemouth bass, and the purple-rain SMH rig enticed 10. Three were caught by strolling with a Finesse WormZ rig and using a swim-glide-and-shake presentation. Twelve were caught on a standard swim-glide-and-shake presentation. Eight were caught on the initial drop. They were caught in water as shallow as about two feet and as deep as about 10 feet. Three were caught within two feet of the water’s edge; the others were caught from about five to 20 feet from the water’s edge. On several retrieves, we elicited as many as four strikes.

Around a main-lake shoreline at the mouth of one of this reservoir’s primary feeder-creek arms, we caught six largemouth bass. This point has a 40-to 45-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. There is also a submerged house and barn foundation. Some of this terrain is festooned with patches of brittle naiad, coontail, and some manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees. The water’s edge is embellished with a few American water willows. The pumpkin Finesse WormZ rig lured four of the six largemouth bass; three of the four were caught on the initial drop in about three to four feet of water along the outside edge of the American water willows that are entwined with brittle naiad; the fourth one was caught on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation in about five to seven feet of water. The purple-rain SMH rig caught two of the six largemouth bass on the initial drop in about five to seven feet of water around a patch of coontail.

Along the east shoreline inside this feeder-creek arm, we caught 33 largemouth bass. This shoreline possesses a 25- to 55-degree slope. It is about 900 yards long and has three secondary points and one tertiary point; we fished about 400 yards of this shoreline and all of the secondary points. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, and an ancient rock fence. Portions of this terrain are decorated with brittle naiad, coontail, and a few manmade piles of brush. The water’s edge is enhanced with a few patches of American water willows, several well-aged laydowns, a dilapidated catfish feeder, and many overhanging trees. The outside edges of many of the American water willows are intertwined with brittle naiad. Three of the 33 largemouth bass were caught on the SMH WormZ rig. Our pumpkin Finesse WormZ rigs caught 30 of the 33 largemouth bass. They were caught in water ranging from three to four feet to 15 feet deep. They were also caught from about six feet from the water’s edge to about 25 feet from the water’s edge. We caught them on three presentations: the initial drop, a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation, and a drag-pause-and-shake presentation. Several were caught as we were strolling and using a swim-glide-and-shake presentation. Sometimes, we would elicit as many as two to four strikes per retrieve.

We caught 18 largemouth bass along the lower half of the west shoreline of this feeder-creek arm. The entire shoreline looks to be more than 800 yards long, and we fished about 300 yards of these 800 yards. It has a 30- to 50-degree slope, and it is graced with two secondary points. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, and some silt; much of this terrain is endowed with patches of brittle naiad and coontail. A submerged creek channel parallels portions of this shoreline. The water’s edge is enhanced with some patches of American water willows, several laydowns, and a few overhanging trees. The outside edges of the American water willows are often intertwined with brittle naiad and coontail. The pumpkin Finesse WormZ rig lured seven of the 18 largemouth bass. The green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD rig inveigled three of the 18 largemouth bass. Eight of the 18 largemouth bass were caught on the molting-craw TRD HogZ rig. Three were caught as we were strolling with a drag-pause-and-shake in the submerged creek channel. Four were caught on the initial drop of our rigs. A slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation caught 11 largemouth bass. They were caught in water as shallow as three to four feet and as deep as 11 to 15 feet. Again, we elicited multiple strikes during some of our retrieves.

We always hope to catch 101 largemouth or smallmouth bass during outings. This was the first time we accomplished that feat in two hours and 30 minutes, which was a catch rate of slightly more than 40 largemouth bass an hour. It was a delightful way to put a close on July and its many days when the heat index climbed from 100 to 119 degrees, which are too intense for this octogenarian to endure during the midday hours that he fishes.

July 31

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted this log on the Finesse News Network about his July 31 morning outing at a popular north-central Texas federal reservoir with Bill Kenney of Denton.

According to In-Fisherman's Solunar calendar, the fishing forecast was average. The prime fishing periods would most likely occur from 12:16 a.m. to 2:16 a.m., 6:27 a.m. to 8:27 a.m., and 12:38 p.m. to 2:38 p.m.

This summer’s exasperating triple-digit daytime temperatures have been scorching north-central Texas for the past few days. The morning’s low temperature on July 31 was 86 degrees. The afternoon’s high temperature was a sultry 105 degrees with a heat index of 111 degrees. The wind quartered out of the south-by-southwest at 5 to 12 mph. The barometric pressure measured 29.88 at 6:00 a.m. and 29.91 at 10:00 a.m. The sky was cloudless.

This reservoir’s water level was 0.16 of a foot below normal. The water exhibited 2 1/2 feet of clarity. The water’s surface temperature ranged from 84 to 85 degrees.

This reservoir’s underwater terrain consists primarily of red clay, pea gravel, chunky rocks, and numerous large boulders. There used to be some burgeoning patches of Eurasian milfoil and hydrilla scattered about in several of this reservoir’s feeder-creek arms, but today we discovered that many of them have now disappeared, and we haven’t a clue as to why this phenomenon is occurring. In the upper end of the reservoir, there are many acres of thick stands of flooded timber, laydowns, stumps, brush piles, and buck brush, which is nirvana to many of our power-fishing brethren.

We were afloat from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., and we caught 25 black bass; 14 were largemouth bass, and 11 were spotted bass. We also caught eight white bass and a freshwater drum.

Our primary focus during this outing was to search for largemouth bass and spotted bass inside a major feeder-creek arm, around five main-lake points, three main-lake shorelines, and along a 75-yard section of a dam in the lower end of the reservoir. These areas are situated in the reservoir’s east tributary arm; we didn’t venture into the west tributary this time.

The major feeder-creek arm, which is situated in the lower end of the east tributary arm, yielded a mixed bag of 13 largemouth bass and spotted bass, and two white bass.

Five of the 13 black bass were caught in less than five feet of water around clusters of chunky rocks and boulders at the perimeter of an island. This island is located in the middle section of the creek arm. Its terrain is flat and comprised of red clay, small gravel, flat rocks, numerous sandstone boulders, a few measly patches of Eurasian milfoil, and a couple of medium-size laydowns.

Eight black bass were caught in three to five feet of water from two rock- and boulder-laden secondary shorelines with relatively flat terrain. They are a short distance east of the island on the north side of the creek arm. One of the shorelines is about 50 yards long, and it yielded six of the eight black bass. The other shoreline is about 75 yards long, and it relinquished the other two black bass.

We also probed several rocky secondary shorelines and points in the lower end and south side of the creek arm. These areas are also flat and graced with sandstone rocks and boulders. They failed to yield any largemouth bass or spotted bass, but one of the secondary shorelines surrendered two white bass that were extracted from 10 and 13 feet of water and about 30 to 40 feet from the water’s edge.

We caught four spotted bass and one largemouth bass in five to eight feet of water around large submerged boulders at the base of one of the three main-lake bluff points, and one largemouth bass in five feet of water from the side of another rock-laden and flat main-lake point about a mile north of the three bluff points. We failed to elicit any strikes from the other two bluff points and a rocky main-lake point at the mouth of a small main-lake cove where we launched our boat.

Of the three main-lake shorelines that we fished, two were fruitless. The other shoreline yielded four spotted bass, one largemouth bass, and six white bass. The portion of this shoreline that we fished is about 30 yards long. Its underwater terrain is flat and strewn with small gravel mixed with numerous chunky rocks. These 11 fish were caught in water as shallow as two feet and within a few feet of the water’s edge to as deep as seven feet and 10 to 15 yards from the water’s edge.

This reservoir’s dam is 14,980 feet long and 141 feet high. It is blanketed with riprap. The 75-yard section of riprap that we dissected along the center portion of the dam wasn’t very productive; it yielded only one spotted bass and one feisty freshwater drum that were abiding in five to seven feet of water and within 25 feet of the water’s edge. We were unable to fish other sections of the dam because those areas were already occupied by other boat anglers.

In total, 13 of the 25 black bass were lured by a moderate-paced swimming retrieve about two feet below the surface with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ rigged on a red 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig. Four were tempted by a steady swimming retrieve with a Z-Man’s The Deal Baby Goat fastened to a white 1/8-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Shad HeadZ jig.

Three more preferred the white 1/8-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Shad HeadZ jig dressed with a Z-Man’s pearl Baby Goat that was implemented with a steady swimming retrieve just below the water’s surface. A 3 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pearl GrubZ rigged on a black 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig with either a slow swimming retrieve or its initial fall fooled three black bass and a freshwater drum. Two were enticed by a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation with a 1.75-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Fuzzy BugZ rigged on a 1/16-ounce chartreuse mushroom-style jig.