Ned Kehde: Guide to Midwest Finesse Fishing: May 2025

Guide to Midwest Finesse Fishing: May 2025

Steve Reideler with a Florida-strain largemouth bass  he caught at a federal hill-land reservoir in north-central Texas on  May 3.

May 2

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his May 2 outing at an 86-year-old community reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 52 degrees. The afternoon's high temperature was 69 degrees. The sky varied from being fair to partly cloudy to overcast to light rain. The wind fluctuated from being calm to angling out of the east, west, and northwest at 3 to 18 mph, and there were a few wind gusts that hit 20 to 28 mph. The barometric pressure was 29.91 at 12:53 a.m., 29.97 at 5:53 a.m., 29.95 at 11:53 a.m., and 29.96 at 3:53 p.m.  

The water level looked to be a tad above normal. The surface temperature ranged from 65 to 66 degrees. The water exhibited one to 2 ½ feet of visibility, and it was afflicted with a significant algae bloom.

In-Fisherman's Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 3:30 a.m. to 5:30 a.m., 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., and 9:45 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. 

I made my first cast at 1:14 p.m., and my last one at 3:52 p.m.

I was hoping to tangle with a goodly number of smallmouth bass. But upon seeing the algae bloom, I immediately suspected that it would be a whale of a challenge to inveigle a significant number of smallmouth bass and largemouth bass. My notions that the fishing would be trying were correct, and it was a struggle to catch six smallmouth bass and 14 largemouth and to inadvertently catch one crappie, two green sunfish, and three freshwater drum.

A seven-inch Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse WormZ, which was shortened to 3 1/2-inches and affixed to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead, caught one smallmouth bass and one largemouth bass. Three largemouth bass and four smallmouth bass were caught on a slightly shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s watermelon-red Finesse WormZ to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. Four smallmouth bass and seven largemouth bass were caught on a slightly shortened Z-Man’s Junebug TRD TicklerZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead.

The shortened seven-inch Z-man's Junebug Finesse WormZ is at the top of this photograph. The shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man's watermelon-red Finesse WormZ rig is in the middle. The shortened Z-Man's Junebug TRD TicklerZ rig is at the bottom. 

 I caught one smallmouth bass and one largemouth bass along an offshore submerged rock and boulder fence. They were caught on the Junebug Finesse WormZ rig and a drag-pause-and-shake presentation in about four to six feet of water.  This offshore spot is in the lower quarter of this reservoir and between the mouths of two large feeder-creek arms.

Along the riprap shoreline of the dam, which is 2,200 feet long, I caught two largemouth bass and three smallmouth bass.  This shoreline has a 45- to 50-degree slope.  The water’s edge is endowed with numerous patches of winter-dead American water willows. The underwater terrain of riprap is partially adorned with a few burgeoning patches of Eurasian milfoil.  Two of the three smallmouth bass were caught on the TRD TicklerZ rig with a drag-pause-and-shake presentation in about six to seven feet of water. One smallmouth bass was caught on the initial drop of the watermelon-red Finesse WormZ in about 2 ½ feet of water in front of a patch of winter-dead American water willows. The watermelon-red Finesse WormZ with a drag-pause-and-shake presentation inveigled two largemouth bass in about six to seven feet of water.

I fished along about a 650-yard stretch of the main-lake shoreline that is adjacent to the dam. This shoreline possesses three main lake points and one tertiary point.  The shoreline also has a spillway and a pedestrian bridge that is supported by three large concrete piers; a significant shallow-water flat, which is enhanced with several humongous boulders, is under the bridge, and this flat is an important part of the spillway. The underwater terrains of the shoreline and flat consist of gravel, rock, and boulders, which are occasionally quilted with some tiny sprouts of Eurasian milfoil. The shoreline possesses a 25- to 40-degree slope.  Many patches of winter-dead American water willows adorn many yards of the water’s edges; there are about a dozen overhanging trees, one dock, several laydowns, and a few piles of brush. I failed to elicit a strike around the tertiary point and the three main-lake points. But along the shoreline, I caught two smallmouth and eight largemouth bass.  The two smallmouth bass were caught on the initial drop of the watermelon-red Finesse WormZ; one was caught under a significantly overhanging eastern cedar tree in about 3 ½ feet of water, and the second one was caught along the outside edge of a patch of winter-dead American water willows in about three feet of water. One of the eight largemouth bass was caught on the initial drop of the watermelon-red Finesse WormZ along a boulder-laden section of the shoreline in about three feet of water. The Junebug TRD TicklerZ rig allured the other seven largemouth bass as I employed a drag-pause-and-shake presentation in water as shallow as three feet and no deeper than eight feet; they were caught in the vicinity of the patches of winter-dead American water willows.

Along two shorelines inside a small feeder-creek arm, I caught three largemouth bass. The underwater terrains consist of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are adorned with occasional patches of Eurasian milfoil. Patches of winter-dead American water willows grace the bulk of the water’s edges, and most of these patches contain a few green stems and leaves. Along the shoreline, there are also three docks, a few laydowns, and several overhanging trees and terrestrial vegetation. One of the largemouth bass was caught on the initial drop of the watermelon-red Finesse WormZ rig under the branches of a large overhanging eastern red cedar tree in about three feet of water. The initial drop of the Junebug TRD TicklerZ rig caught another largemouth bass in about 3 ½ feet of water under several overhanging trees. The third largemouth bass was caught along the outside edge of a patch of American water willows on the Junebug TRD TicklerZ rig with a drag-pause-and-shake presentation in about four to five feet of water.

During these two hours and 38 minutes, I eked out a sorry average of 2.3 smallmouth bass an hour, 5.3 largemouth bass an hour, and 7.2 fish an hour.

This urban reservoir has been plagued with a variety of algal blooms. There is a lot of debate about the causes of these blooms. Some observers say the cause is the vast amounts of urban stormwater that is laced with nitrogen and phosphorus from lawns and a nearby golf course. Others contend that the fecal droppings from the thousands of Canada geese that flock to this reservoir in the winter provoke the blooms. A few have pointed out the algal blooms have become more intense since the managers of this reservoir began spraying the Eurasian milfoil in the 2010s and the zebra mussels have disappeared. According to other observers, the significant buildup of silt seems to have provoked the intensity and frequency of the blooms. What’s more, several Midwest finesse anglers have also noticed that the smallmouth bass population and fishing have diminished strikingly since 2016 and the more frequent eruptions of the algal blooms.  

May 3

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his May 3 outing. 

North-central Texas has been waylaid with rain this spring, and almost all of our federal, state, and community reservoirs are in flood stage. 

From 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Norman Brown of Lewisville, Texas, and I fished at one of several federal hill-land reservoirs in north-central Texas.

Upon arrival, we discovered the main boat ramp was closed with water covering its parking lot. Even the picnic tables near the parking lot were surrounded by water. Another problem was that even though this reservoir was in flood stage, it didn’t deter the many pleasure boaters, water skiers, jet skiers, kayakers, bank anglers, and scores of bass and pontoon boats from enjoying a day on the water. What’s more, there was also a large sailboat race in progress at the lower end of the reservoir. 

The angler pressure at this impoundment was the most intense that I have seen at any reservoir this year, and there was either a boat angler or a bank angler or two at all of the most promising areas. This situation relegated us to fishing behind or around the other anglers or fishing locales that normally aren’t very productive. 

The black-bass fishing was atrocious, and we failed to find any aggregations of largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, or spotted bass that inhabit this reservoir. After the first four hours of this outing, we could barely manage to scrounge up four largemouth bass, two smallmouth bass, and one spotted bass. Therefore, we elected to spend the last hour of this outing fishing for white bass to break up the monotony of the lackluster black-bass fishing, and we were delighted to catch 37 of them. 

According to In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar, the best fishing would occur from 4:37 a.m. to 6:37 a.m., 10:51 a.m. to 12:51 p.m., and 12:51 p.m. to 2:51 p.m. The calendar also indicated that fishing would be poor.

It was sunny. Area thermometers recorded the morning’s low temperature at 52 degrees. The afternoon’s high reached 74 degrees. The barometric pressure measured 30.07 at 10:00 a.m., and it dropped to 30.03 by 3:00 p.m. When we launched the boat at about 9:45 a.m., the wind angled out of the northwest at 10 mph. When we trailered the boat at about 3:15 p.m., the wind was still quartering out of the northwest, but its intensity had increased to 15 mph. 

The water level was 4.61 feet into flood stage. The water was murky, exhibiting between 12 and 14 inches of visibility. Wood debris was floating on the water’s surface everywhere we fished. As we were traveling around the reservoir, we could see a prominent wall of muddy water slowly creeping its way down-lake from the upper end of the reservoir. The water temperature ranged from 67 to 70 degrees.

We searched for largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, and spotted bass inside one major feeder-creek arm and two minor feeder-creek arms in the middle and lower sections of the reservoir where the water was a bit clearer than most other areas. We also meandered over to the dam and probed about a third of the riprap that covers the dam. 

The underwater terrains inside these three feeder-creek arms consist of clay, some sand, silt, gravel, fist-size rocks, and numerous sandstone boulders. There is an abundance of flooded buck brush, stickups, laydowns, and other terrestrial vegetation that grace many sections of their shorelines.  

The first minor feeder-creek arm relinquished one largemouth bass, and we lost another good-sized one that was able to jettison our bait from its jaw when it jumped out of the water and energetically shook its head back and forth. It was abiding in about three feet of water in an open pocket of a patch of flooded buck brush.  It was fooled by a slow-swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pumpkin-chartreuse ZinkerZ affixed on a green-pumpkin-red-flake mushroom-style jig. The other largemouth bass was caught in about three feet of water from under the overhanging branches of a large tree that was encircled by water. It was enticed by a slow-swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s Slam Shady GrubZ attached to a blue 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. We failed to elicit any strikes from two gravel-and-clay shorelines, two secondary points, three tertiary points, and inside two small coves adorned with thick patches of flooded buck brush. 

Inside the major feeder-creek arm, which lies about a mile west of the first minor creek arm, we caught one spotted bass and one largemouth bass. Both were caught from two rocky secondary points in the midsection of the creek arm. The spotted bass was caught in three feet of water on a swimming retrieve with a three-inch Z-Man’s Bad Shad Slim SwimZ rigged on an unpainted 3/32-ounce mushroom-style jig. The largemouth bass was caught in five feet of water on a slow swim-glide-and-shake retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pumpkin-chartreuse ZinkerZ on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead.   We failed to garner any strikes around a small island, along two bluff shorelines, two clay-and-gravel flats, around flooded buck brush inside a medium-size cove, and several other rocky secondary points. 

From the major feeder-creek arm, we moved about two miles eastward to the dam, where we hoped to cross paths with some smallmouth bass. We drifted with the wind and probed about half of the riprap shoreline that covers the center portion of the dam; the upper third and lower third of the dam were already occupied by other boat anglers. 

The center section of the dam yielded two largemouth bass and two smallmouth bass, and one of these two largemouth bass was a lunker that weighed seven pounds. These two smallmouth bass and two largemouth bass were extracted from 12 to 18 feet of water, and from 25 to 40 feet from the water’s edge. They were allured by a slow hop-and-bounce presentation down the slope of the riprap with a 2 3/4-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD TubeZ matched with a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead.

After we finished fishing the dam, we ventured about 1  1/2 miles westward to another minor feeder-creek arm. We fished around several rocky secondary points, two gravel shorelines, and a minor clay-and-gravel flat. These spots stretch from the lower end to the midsection of this creek arm, and we failed to locate any black bass.

As we were motoring back to the boat ramp, we stumbled across a large number of Foster’s Terns diving into water that was 32 to 51 feet deep, and they were snatching small threadfin shad from just under the water’s surface. We fished amongst them for an hour, employing either the 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ rigged on a blue 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead or the three-inch Bad Shad Slim SwimZ rig. We utilized these two rigs with a steady-swimming retrieve after allowing the lures to drop 12 to 15 feet below the surface of the water on the initial fall, and we caught 37 white bass before the feeding spree came to an end.

In sum, the black-bass fishing was awful, and we were befuddled that we could catch only four largemouth bass, two smallmouth bass, and one spotted bass in four hours. In contrast, the white-bass fishing was pretty good; we caught 37 of them in an hour,

May 5

Pat and Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about their May 5 outing at a 93-year-old and heavily fished state reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 41 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 76 degrees.  The wind was calm at times, and when it stirred, it was angled out of the northwest, west, north, and northeast at 3 to 8 mph.  The sky fluctuated from being fair to being cluttered with a few clouds.  The barometric pressure was 29.99 at 12:52 a.m., 29.98 at 5:52 a.m., 39.98 at 11:52 a.m., and 29.93 at 2:52 p.m.

The water level looked to be a few inches above normal. The surface temperature ranged from 67 to 70 degrees. The water exhibited more than 10 feet of visibility.  This reservoir’s shallow-water flats and shorelines are endowed with uncountable patches of curly-leaf pondweeds; these patches are in water as deep as 13 feet, and some stems are 12 feet long. Many of the patches are so thick that they are unfishable.  There are scores of manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees embellishing this reservoir’s underwater terrains, and many of the shallow-water piles are now coated with wads of filamentous algae and surrounded by patches of curly-leaf pondweeds. Most of the patches of winter-dead American water willows, shallow-water laydowns, and other shallow-water objects are also covered with filamentous algae.  The curly-leaf pondweeds are near the pinnacle of their growth, and by the middle of June, they will disappear, and they won’t sprout again until November and early December.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would occur from 6:08 a.m. to 8:08 a.m., 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., and 11:56 a.m. to 1:56 p.m.

This was one of our normal conjugal and octogenarian outings, and it was a two-hour piscatorial affair. We made our first casts at 1:01 p.m. and the last ones at 3:01 p.m. And it was a tussle to deal with thick and intense patches of curly-leaf pondweeds and wads of filamentous algae.  Therefore, we tangled with 26 largemouth bass and accidentally caught two green sunfish and two crappie in areas that were not cluttered with the heavy-duty patches of curly-leaf pondweeds.

We spent these 120 minutes fishing around two main-lake points, five secondary points, and a few tertiary points. We also fished along about 800 yards of two secondary shorelines and 350 yards of two main-lake shorelines and 300 yards of the dam’s riprap shoreline, which is 1,700 feet long.

The underwater terrains of these shorelines and points consist of gravel, rocks, and boulders. Some of these terrains are endowed with a dilapidated rock fence, a barn foundation, and a house foundation. About 80 percent of the water’s edges are adorned with significant patches of winter-dead American water willows. The water’s edges are also enhanced with a few piles of tree limbs, some laydowns, and several overhanging trees. Most of these underwater terrains and water’s edges that we fished were littered with wads of filamentous algae and thin patches of curly-leaf pondweeds.

We worked with four Midwest finesse rigs. We caught two largemouth bass on a slightly shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ affixed  to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. A Z-Man’s green-pumpkin-blue Finesse ShadZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig inveigled five largemouth bass.  Seven largemouth bass were caught on a slightly shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s watermelon-red Finesse WormZ to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. A dozen were caught on a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD affixed to a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead.

We caught four largemouth bass around one of the main-lake points and about 50 yards of its main-lake shoreline. This area has about a 45-degree slope. They were caught in four to nine feet of water around the wads of filamentous algae and meager patches of curly-leaf pondweeds. Two were caught on the green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ rig; one was caught on a deadstick presentation; the second one was caught on a slow drag-pause-and-shake presentation in a skimpy patch of curly-leaf pondweeds. The other two were caught on the watermelon-red Finesse WormZ rig; one was caught on the initial drop along the outside edge of a patch of winter-dead American water willows and large wad of filamentous algae; the second one was caught on a drag-pause-and-shake presentation.

Along about 75 yards of the secondary shoreline immediately adjacent to this main-lake point, we eked out three largemouth bass. It has about a 45- to 55-degree slope. One was caught on the green-pumpkin-blue Finesse ShadZ rig with a drag-pause-and-shake presentation in a skimpy patch of curly-leaf pondweeds in about eight to nine feet of water. The other two were caught on the watermelon-red Finesse WormZ rig with a drag-pause-and-shake presentation in about seven to nine feet of water.

We caught three largemouth bass around a secondary point inside one of this reservoir’s two primary feeder-creek arms. The watermelon-red Finesse WormZ rig allured these three largemouth bass inside a trough of the curly-leaf pondweeds.  The point has about a 40-degree slope. This trough is about 40 yards long and 20 feet wide. Two of the three largemouth bass were caught on the initial drop near the edge of a wad of filamentous algae in about five feet of water. The third one was caught on a drag-and-pause presentation in about six to seven feet of water.

Along a 30-yard stretch of a massive secondary shoreline inside this primary feeder-creek arm, we caught 11 largemouth bass. This area has a 50- to 60-degree slope. It isn’t cluttered with vast wads of filamentous algae, and it is almost devoid of curly-leaf pondweeds and winter-dead patches of American water willows. The water’s edge is littered with many overhanging trees. One largemouth bass was caught on the initial drop of the green-pumpkin-blue Finesse ShadZ rig in about five feet of water. Three were caught on the initial drop of the green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD rig in three to five feet of water. The other seven were caught on a drag-pause-and-shake presentation in five to eight feet of water.

The main-lake point at the end of this shoreline was fruitless.

We struggled to catch two largemouth bass along about 300-yards of a main-lake shoreline that stretches between the fruitless main-lake point and the dam’s spillway. This shoreline has a 45- to 80-degree slope. The water’s edge is beset with many wads of filamentous algae and a few patches of curly-leaf pondweeds. One largemouth bass was caught on the initial drop of the green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD rig in about three feet of water next to a laydown. This Finesse TRD rig allured the second largemouth bass on the initial drop near a pile of tree limbs.

Along a portion of the dam’s riprap shoreline, the Finesse ShadZ rig with a drag-pause-and-shake presentation allured three largemouth bass in four to seven feet of water. The dam has about a 50-degree slope. Much of the water’s edge is cluttered with minor wads of filamentous algae and some patches of curly-leaf pondweeds.

Weatherwise, it was a delightful day to be afloat. The uncountable number of curly-leaf pondweeds flourishing in the crystal-clear water was an incredible and beautiful sight.  Since we caught 102 largemouth bass in three hours and 34 minutes on April 3, 70 largemouth bass in three hours and 52 minutes on April 11, and 110 largemouth bass in three hours and 51 minutes on April 21, we were hoping to tangle with 51 largemouth bass in two hours. But those hopes weren’t realized. Instead, we eked out 13 largemouth bass an hour.  It is unlikely that we will fish this reservoir again until late June, which is when the vast patches of curly-leaf pondweeds have wilted and are being replaced by patches of coontail and bushy pondweeds.

May 5

Bob Gum of Kansas City, Kansas, posted a brief log on the Finesse News Network about his outing with Nick Robertson of Overland Park, Kansas, on May 5 at one of the power-plant reservoirs in northeastern Kansas.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 50 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 75 degrees. The wind varied from being calm to angling out of the west, northwest, and north at 3 to 8 mph.The conditions of the sky fluctuated from being fair to partly cloudy to cluttered with a few clouds. The barometric pressure was 29.98 at 12:53 a.m., 29.98 at 5:53 a.m., 29.98 at 11:53 a.m., and 29.94 at 2:53 p.m.

Water clarity was about three feet in the vicinity of the dam. The surface temperature was 68 degrees at the dam. The water level was normal.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would occur from 6:10 a.m. to 8:10 a.m., 6:32 p.m. to 8:32 p.m., and 11:59 a.m. to 1:59 a.m. It also exclaimed that the fishing would be great.

We made our first casts around 7:00 a.m. and our last ones around 2:30 p.m.

We began fishing at the west end of the dam’s riprap shoreline.  The dam is 11,249 feet long. It took us 30 minutes to catch our first largemouth bass.

After we fished the entire dam, we fished the riprap shoreline along the power-plant’s access road and the riprap shoreline around the entire power plant.

We spent the rest of the outing along the dam’s riprap shoreline again. This time we fished from its east end to its west end.

By the time we made our last casts and retrieves, my fish counter noted that we had caught 80 fish. Thirty of them were largemouth bass, 30 were channel catfish, 18 were freshwater drum, and two were crappie. We didn’t count the green-sunfish.

La cygne, May 5, 2025.jpeg
My most effective rigs were a Z-Man’s California-craw TRD HogZ on a red 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig and a Z-Man’s smelt TRD MinnowZ on a black 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig.

Nick’s best rig was a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD HogZ on a black 1/15-ounce mushroom-style jig.

Nick, La Cygne May 5, 2025.jpeg
Most of the 80 fish were caught in two to 10 feet of water as we employed a swim-glide-and-occasional-twitch presentation.

During these seven hours, we caught an average of four largemouth bass an hour.  I suspect that the largemouth bass were on the verge of beginning their traditional post-spawn funk.  Therefore, I will fish elsewhere during the next few weeks.

May 6

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his May 6 outing at an 87-year-old community reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 51 degrees, and the afternoon's high temperature was 75 degrees. The wind varied from calm to variable to angling from the south and southeast at 3 to 7 mph.   The sky fluctuated from being fair to partly cloudy. The barometric pressure was 29.99 at 12:53 a.m., 30.01 at 5:53 a.m., 30.03 at 11:53 a.m., and 30.03 at 3:53 p.m.

The water level looked to be a touch above normal. The surface temperature ranged from 69 to 70 degrees. The water exhibited more than 10 feet of visibility in the vicinity of the dam and about six feet of visibility along the shorelines in the upper half of the reservoir. The zebra mussels have done a marvelous job of improving the water clarity. Much of the underwater terrains in the shallow-water areas were coated with wads of filamentous algae. And many small wads of it floated on the surface along many yards of the shorelines, and nearly every fourth retrieve became entangled with a wad.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would occur from 6:51 a.m. to 8:51 a.m., 7:11 p.m. to 9:11 p.m., and 12:40 a.m. to 2:40 a.m. 

I made my first cast at 12:28 p.m. and last one at 3:38 p.m.  The fishing was quite perplexing, and it was a struggle to catch 16 largemouth bass. I did elicit a significant number of meager strikes, and accidentally caught two warmouth, two bluegill, and nine green sunfish, and I suspected most of those paltry strikes were panfish. But most of the strikes of the largemouth bass that I caught were quite puny, too.

One largemouth bass was caught on a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse ShadZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. A slightly shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s watermelon-red Finesse WormZ on a red 1/20-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead inveigled five largemouth bass. Ten largemouth bass were caught on a slightly shortened 3.25-inch Z-Man’s Canada-craw TRD FattyZ affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead.

The Z-Man’s Canada-craw TRD Fatty rig.

Three largemouth bass were caught along the dam, which is 1,550 feet long with a height of 58 feet. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are adorned with some patches of aquatic vegetation and wads of filamentous algae. It possesses a 50- to 60-degree slope. The water’s edge is graced with a concrete water outlet tower, shallow-water patches of terrestrial grasses, and a few patches of American water willows.  One largemouth bass was caught on the Finesse ShadZ rig with a swim-glide-and-subtle-shake presentation in about six feet of water. The initial drop of the TRD FattyZ rig caught two largemouth bass near the front edges of a patch of American water willows in about three feet of water.

In the lower half of the reservoir, I caught two largemouth bass around a main-lake point. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, wads of filamentous algae, and a few burgeoning patches of submerged aquatic vegetation.  It possesses a 25-degree slope that is graced with a ledge that plummets into deep water. A dock floats at the center of the point. The TRD FattyZ rig with a swim-glide-and-shake presentation allured one largemouth bass around the patches of submerged aquatic vegetation in about five to six feet of water. The second largemouth bass was caught on the initial drop of the TRD FattyZ rig along the outside edge of the dock in about six feet of water.

I fished along three sections of about an 800-yard stretch of a main-lake shoreline in the lower half of the reservoir.  One section was about 100 yards long, The second section was about 60 yards long, and it includes an offshore hump.  The third second was about 40 yards long.   The underwater terrains of the entire shoreline consist of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are occasionally embellished with significant patches of filamentous algae and burgeoning patches of submerged aquatic vegetation. It possesses a 20- to 50-degree slope. The water’s edge is lined with several concrete and stone retaining walls, a few overhanging trees, some meager patches of American water willows, and dozens of docks. Along the first section, I caught two largemouth bass on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation with the Finesse WormZ rig in about seven to eight feet of water. The second section was fruitless. At the third section, a deadstick-and-short drag presentation with the TRD FattyZ rig caught three largemouth bass along the outside edge of one of the docks in about 10 to 11 feet of water.

Along portions of a 500-yard stretch of a shoreline in the upper half of the reservoir, I caught two largemouth bass. The underwater terrains of this shoreline consist of gravel, rocks, boulders, and some silt, which are adorned with wads of filamentous algae, some man-made piles of PVC pipes, and several patches of submerged aquatic vegetation. The shoreline possesses a 20- to 60-degree slope. The water’s edges consist of several concrete retaining walls, nine docks, some riprap, one small rock bridge, a few minor laydowns, several piles of brush, some patches of American water willows, and several overhanging trees. The wads of filamentous algae were horrific. Along the flatter and silt-laden portion of this shoreline, I caught one largemouth bass on the Finesse WormZ rig with a swim-glide-and-shake presentation in about 3 ½-feet of water as I was retrieving the rig parallel to the outside edge of a long patch of American water willows. The second largemouth bass was caught on the initial drop of the TRD FattyZ rig in about four feet of water around some rocks and boulders at a tertiary point adjacent to the bridge.  

I caught four largemouth bass along segments of a massive shoreline in the upper half of this reservoir. The underwater terrain of this shoreline consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, and silt, which are endowed with occasional patches of aquatic vegetation, many wads of filamentous algae, and a few manmade piles of brush. There were uncountable numbers of tiny wads of floating filamentous algae littering this shoreline. The entire water’s edge is lined with 28 docks, many concrete and stone retaining walls, some patches of winter-dead American water willows, some overhanging trees, and three mega laydowns. The shoreline possesses a 25- to 60-degree slope. The Finesse WormZ rig with a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation inveigled the four largemouth bass in four to eight feet of water.

At the end of this trying time, I chatted with two Midwest finesse anglers. Both were as puzzled as I was about the whereabouts and behavior of this reservoir’s largemouth bass. One had caught three largemouth bass in about an hour and a half, and he was hoping that the action would improve later in the afternoon. The other one had spent a number of hours in the upper and lower regions of this reservoir and struggled to catch a dozen.  My archival records of Mays of the past reveal that I have endured several horrible outings at this reservoir, catching as few as five largemouth bass on May 6, 2019, and 15 on May 20, 2014. But there have been other Mays when my partners and I have tangled with 40 to 70 largemouth bass per outing, and these outings encompassed three to four hours of fishing or a catch rate of 10 to 17 bass an hour.

In sum, my hourly average today was five largemouth bass.

May 6

Nick Robertson of Overland Park, Kansas, posted a brief log on the Finesse News Network about his outing with Nathan Smith of Bonner Springs, Kansas, on May 6 at a community reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 51 degrees, and the afternoon's high temperature was 75 degrees. The wind varied from calm to variable to angling from the south and southeast at 3 to 7 mph.   The sky fluctuated from being fair to partly cloudy to overcast. The barometric pressure was 29.99 at 12:53 a.m., 30.01 at 5:53 a.m., 30.03 at 11:53 a.m., and 30.01 at 3:53 p.m.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would occur from 6:51 a.m. to 8:51 a.m., 7:11 p.m. to 9:11 p.m., and 12:40 a.m. to 2:40 a.m. 

We fished in an inflatable boat from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. We spent these six hours in the middle section of the reservoir, fishing along the secondary shorelines and points inside a major feeder-creek arm, around the main-lake points at the mouth of this feeder creek, and along the main-lake shoreline adjacent to the two main-lake shorelines. We fished another main-lake point and a portion of its main-lake shoreline.

The water along the main-lake points and shorelines exhibited about eight to 10 feet of clarity. We didn’t measure the surface temperature and water level.

The underwater terrain consisted on gravel, rocks, and boulders; some

of it was graced with burgeoning patches of submerged aquatic vegetation. The water’s edges are enhanced with laydowns, piles of tree limbs, and some patches of American water willows.

The submerged and emergent vegetation yielded a few fish, but the vegetation was difficult for us to fish; therefore, we avoided most of it. The most productive areas consisted of boulders and laydowns.

We caught 34 largemouth bass, five smallmouth bass, and inadvertently caught one channel catfish, and 12 green sunfish. The five smallmouth bass were caught along the main-lake environs.

My most effective Midwest finesse rigs were a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD HogZ affixed to a green-pumpkin 1/15-ounce mushroom-style jig, a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin-blue Finesse WormZ on a green-pumpkin 1/15-ounce mushroom-style jig, and a 4.75-inch Z-Man’s PB&J Finesse WormZ on a blue 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. I used either a swim-and-glide presentation or a swim-glide-and-shake presentation with these three rigs. A Z-Man’s mud-minnow Finesse FrogZ affixed Texas-posed to a 1/16-ounce jig and number two hook inveigled three largemouth bass, but this jig was too heavy. So to keep this rig on the surface I had to retrieve it too fast to be effective.

In sum, it was a difficult chore to properly control the position of the inflatable boat as we tried to thoroughly dissect shorelines and points with our Midwest finesse rigs.  Ultimately, we caught an average of slightly more than six black bass an hour.

May 7

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

This time of May is pleasant in north-central Texas. The mornings aren’t too cold, and the afternoons aren’t too hot. But we have seen over 15 inches of rain so far this spring, and the federal, state, and community reservoirs in north-central Texas are now filled to the brim and then some. 

John Thomas of Denton, Texas, and I decided to take advantage of the mild-mannered weather and traveled to a popular federal hill-land reservoir in north-central Texas. 

I fished at this same reservoir on April 11 with Frank Gosnell of Sanger, Texas, and the fishing was what we consider to be mediocre at best. We fished for six hours and worked hard to catch 12 largemouth bass and two spotted bass. 

In-Fisherman's Solunar calendar noted that fishing would be poor on May 7, and the most productive fishing periods would occur from 1:26 a.m. to 3:26 a.m., 7:36 a.m. to 9:36 a.m., and 7:56 p.m. to 9:56 p.m. 

We fished from 12:20 p.m. to 4:20 p.m.

The sky conditions varied from overcast to mostly cloudy to partly cloudy.  The morning’s low temperature was 59 degrees. The afternoon’s high temperature reached 76 degrees. The wind angled out of the west at 5 to 10 mph. The barometric pressure measured 29.95 at noon and 29.91 at 4:00 p.m.

The water temperature ranged from 68 degrees at the dam in the lower end of the reservoir to 72 degrees in the midsection of a major feeder-creek arm in the east tributary arm. The water level was 2.36 feet above normal pool, and we discovered that one of the boat ramps was closed in one feeder-creek arm because of the high water. We were delighted that the water wasn’t muddy from all the recent rains, and there was 3 1/2 feet of clarity.

We concentrated our efforts in the reservoir’s lower end, where the majority of its submerged terrain is composed of red clay, small gravel, chunk rocks, and countless numbers of large boulders. And during this four-hour endeavor, we fished a variety of locales inside a minor main-lake cove, around a riprap jetty endowed with a fishing pier, inside two feeder-creek arms, along two rocky main-lake shorelines and main-lake points, and the center section of the dam.

We began fishing inside the minor cove in the lower end of the east tributary where we launched the boat. After launching the boat, we immediately deployed the trolling motor and began casting. On the north side of the cove, we slowly dissected a riprap-covered jetty with a fishing pier that extends outward into deep water from the end of the jetty, a 50-yard segment of a riprap-laden main-lake shoreline adjacent to the riprap jetty, another 30-yard stretch of a riprap shoreline that is situated a few yards from the boat ramp on the south side of the cove, an adjacent rocky main-lake point, and its adjoining main-lake shoreline. There are a few thick patches of hydrilla occupying the shallow-water areas near the two main-lake shorelines and the south-side rocky main-lake entry point of the cove. 

On our first cast just north of the boat ramp where the east shoreline of the cove melds into the riprap jetty, we caught one spotted bass on the initial fall of a shortened Z-Man’s sprayed-grass TRD TicklerZ affixed on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead in five feet of water. As we continued fishing around the jetty and the fishing pier, we caught three largemouth bass and another spotted bass in three to 18 feet of water. Two of these four black bass were allured by the sprayed-grass TRD TicklerZ rig, and the other two were allured by a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pumpkin-chartreuse ZinkerZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. Both of these rigs were implemented with a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation. 

The hydrilla patches and riprap adorning the 50-yard segment of main-lake shoreline north of the fishing-pier jetty failed to yield a black bass or a strike. 

The riprap shoreline on the south side of the cove, it’s adjacent riprap-laden main-lake entry point, and the connecting rocky main-lake shoreline just south of the main-lake point surrendered two spotted bass and one largemouth bass. They were abiding in four to seven feet of water. Two of these three bass were caught on a swim-glide-and-shake retrieve with the shortened sprayed-grass TRD TicklerZ rig, and the other one was enticed by a swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ fastened on a red 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. 

Inside the first feeder-creek arm, which lies a short distance from the main-lake cove that we just fished, we caught five largemouth bass, one spotted bass, and one white bass. 

The perimeter of an island located in the lower end of this creek arm yielded one white bass and one largemouth bass. This island is enhanced with several large patches of Eurasian milfoil, chunky rocks, gravel, and a few scattered boulders. The white bass was caught in 13 feet of water from the northwest end of the island on a swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s slam-shady GrubZ rigged on a red 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. One largemouth bass was caught in five feet of water from one of the shallow patches of Eurasian milfoil on the northeast end of the island. It was tempted by a slow-swimming retrieve with the 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ rig. 

One largemouth bass and one spotted bass were caught in three to five feet of water from a flat and rocky shoreline on the north side of the creek arm and just east of the island. This shoreline has a flat terrain and is about 100-yards long. The spotted bass was enticed by a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation with a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse ShadZ fastened to a red 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. The largemouth bass was induced into striking the 2 1/2-inch pearl Slim SwimZ combo with a slow swimming retrieve. 

Two largemouth bass were caught in five to seven feet of water around a large cluster of submerged boulders on a flat and rock-laden secondary point, and another largemouth bass was extracted from seven feet of water near a patch of Eurasian milfoil that is situated inside a small cove along the south shoreline in the lower portion of this creek arm.  All three of them were fooled by a shortened Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD TicklerZ matched with a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead and a slow swim-glide-and-shake retrieve. 

We failed to catch any largemouth or spotted bass around several other rocky secondary points, an offshore rock pile, and a humongous patch of Eurasian milfoil next to an offshore rock pile in the middle and upper end of the creek arm.    

After we finished fishing the first feeder-creek arm, we traveled about two miles westward to the center section of the dam. The dam is covered with riprap. The center of the dam features a large concrete water-outlet tower with a walkway extending out to the tower from the dam. The tower is encircled by 37 to 53 feet of water. The walkway is about 30 yards long, and is supported by two concrete support columns. 

The walls of the outlet tower relinquished two largemouth bass and four large bluegill. The two largemouth bass were suspended five to eight feet below the surface of the water and within two to three feet of the tower’s walls. They were caught on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation with the shortened sprayed-grass TRD TicklerZ rig. The four large bluegill were caught on a swim-glide-and-shake retrieve with the 2 1/2-inch pumpkin-chartreuse ZinkerZ rig.

We failed to elicit any strikes from around the two concrete support columns under the walkway.

A 75-yard stretch of riprap that covers the center portion of the dam relinquished one spotted bass and one largemouth bass.  They were scattered along the riprap in three to five feet of water and 10 to 15 feet from the water’s edge. The spotted bass was fooled by a swimming retrieve with the 2 1/2-inch pearl Slim SwimZ, and the largemouth bass was allured by a slow swim-glide-and-shake retrieve with the shortened sprayed-grass TRD TicklerZ rig. 

From the dam, we traveled about three miles westward to the lower section of the west tributary arm, where we ventured inside the second feeder-creek arm. We probed several flat secondary points and pockets that are embellished with thick stands of flooded timber and some large patches of submerged rocks, boulders, and Eurasian milfoil. We caught only one largemouth bass in this creek arm. It was abiding in three feet of water near the outside edge of a cluster of flooded buck brush in the lower end of the creek arm. We failed to elicit any strikes from several flat clay-and-gravel secondary points and two minor gravel flats. 

 In closing, we struggled to catch a total of 19 black bass in four hours. Thirteen of them were largemouth bass, and six were spotted bass. We also inadvertently caught one white bass and four large bluegill.

May 8

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his May 8 outing. 

Frank Gosnell of Sanger, Texas, joined me for a six-hour smallmouth-bass foray to a picturesque federal reservoir in southern Oklahoma. It is the same reservoir that Brad DePrater of Sanger and I reveled in catching 97 smallmouth bass, two largemouth bass, and one spotted bass on April 21. 

May 8 was a mild spring day in southern Oklahoma. The wind was mild-mannered and quartered out of the north at 5 to 10 mph. It was mostly sunny, and about 70 percent of the sky was decorated with wispy high-altitude cirrus clouds and lower-altitude puffy-white cumulus clouds drifting underneath them. The morning’s low temperature was 54 degrees, and the afternoon’s high reached 75 degrees. The barometric pressure measured 30.08 at 10:00 a.m. and 30.03 at 4:00 p.m.

A poor fishing day was forecasted by In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar. The calendar also indicated that the most lucrative fishing would occur from 12:42 a.m. to 2:42 a.m., 6:55 a.m. to 8:55 a.m., and 1:08 p.m. to 3:08 p.m.

We fished from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The water exhibited between three and five feet of clarity, which was dinger than it was on April 21. The surface temperature ranged from 68 to 69 degrees. The water level appeared to be about three feet high.

We launched the boat inside a major feeder-creek arm in the lower end of the reservoir’s west tributary arm, and we began probing a series of nine large secondary points, two sand-and-gravel flats, and a main-lake bluff point at the entrance to this creek arm. These areas are located in the lower and middle sections of the creek arm. 

Around the nine secondary points and the two flats, we caught 12 smallmouth bass, one largemouth bass, one spotted bass, and one freshwater drum that were abiding in three to nine feet of water. Most of them were caught from the flatter points and the two minor flats with sand, gravel, rocks, and minor patches of boulders adorning them. Three smallmouth bass, the largemouth bass, and the spotted bass were caught around the deep-water side of several shallow-water rock ledges that grace three of the steeper rocky points. Ten of these 14 black bass were allured by a swimming retrieve with a three-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ affixed on a chartreuse 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. The other four were enticed by a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s hot-craw ZinkerZ affixed on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom jighead.  

We failed to elicit any strikes in the upper end of this creek arm.

Three shallow rock ledges that parallel a steep bluff point and its juxtaposed bluff shoreline at the entrance to this creek arm relinquished 10 smallmouth bass and one large green sunfish. All of them were beguiled by the 2 1/2-inch hot-craw ZinkerZ rig as it was being manipulated with a slow swim-glide-and-shake retrieve. 

Ten smallmouth bass and one largemouth bass were caught on two offshore main-lake humps. One is situated in the midsection of the west tributary arm, and the second one is located at this tributary’s lower end.  Both of these humps are covered with chunky rocks and boulders, and the top of the humps are covered with two to three feet of water. The first hump surrendered one smallmouth bass, and it was caught on a swimming retrieve with the three-inch green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ combo. The second hump was more productive; it yielded nine smallmouth bass and one largemouth bass. These 10 black bass were dwelling around the perimeter of the humps in three to nine feet of water. Most of them engulfed the 2 1/2-inch hot-craw ZinkerZ combo as it was being employed with a slow swim-glide-and-shake retrieve, but we were amazed to see one smallmouth bass attack the ZinkerZ rig as it was being quickly reeled in just below the surface of the water after being temporarily snagged in a cluster of large rocks.

Across four major main-lake shorelines in the middle and lower portions of the west tributary arm, we caught 40 smallmouth bass. They were abiding in water as shallow as three feet and as deep as nine feet, and they were relating to the deep-water sides of several shallow rock ledges that parallel these shorelines. All of them were bedazzled by the 2 1/2-inch hot-craw ZinkerZ combo with a slow swim-glide-and-shake retrieve. 

In conclusion, this was Frank’s maiden smallmouth bass outing, and we were delighted to tangle with 75 black bass, one freshwater drum, and one large green sunfish on a pleasant spring day. Of these 75 black bass, 72 were smallmouth bass, two were largemouth bass, and one was a spotted bass. 

This reservoir isn’t known for producing large smallmouth bass, but they are plentiful. The majority of them would measure between 12 and 15 inches, but their hard-fighting shenanigans keep us entertained throughout the day, and it keeps us coming back for more.

May 9

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his outing on May 9 at an 86-year-old community reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

May 9, 2025, exhibited two facets about the diminishing returns of old age, and this log will note them. 

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 46 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 78 degrees. The wind varied from calm to variable to angling from the  northwest, southeast, northeast, and east at 3 to 12 mph; a few midday wind gusts fluctuated between 18 and 20 mph.  The sky was fair. The barometric pressure was 30.15 at 12:52 a.m., 30.17 at 5:52 a.m., 30.22 at 11:52 a.m., and 30:19 at 2:52 p.m.

The water level is more than a foot below normal. The surface temperature ranged from 69 to 71 degrees. The water exhibited about five feet of clarity in the vicinity of the dam. For the first time this year, there were several swimmers and sunbathers at this reservoir’s public swimming beach.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would occur from 8:37 a.m. to 10:37 a.m., 8:56 p.m. to 10:56 p.m., and 2:27 a.m. to 4:27 a.m. 

My minor focus on this outing was to celebrate the 12th anniversary of my May 9, 2013 outing at this reservoir. On that outing, I caught 125 largemouth bass in three hours and 35 minutes. During this quasi-celebrative outing, I wanted to measure some of the effects the past 12 years have weathered on this 86-year-old reservoir and how those 12 years have also eroded my wherewithal as a Midwest finesse angler.

I made my first cast at 11:49 a.m., and I was hoping to make my last one three hours and 35 minutes later. But as I took a bite of an apple at 1:52 p.m., my rather ancient number nine incisor tooth was completely extracted from my upper jaw. Thus, I decided to go home and get a dental appointment.

During these two hours and two minutes, I failed to achieve the hourly catch rate of the spectacular 2013 outing. Instead, I caught 20 largemouth bass and eight green sunfish.

One largemouth bass was caught on a slightly shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s watermelon-red Finesse WormZ affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. Another one was caught on a slightly shortened 3.25-inch Z-Man’s Canada-craw TRD FattyZ affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. Eighteen were caught on a 2.75-inch Z-Man’s Bama-bug TRD BugZ attached to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man ShroomZ.

The Bama-bug TRD BugZ rig.
I slowly fished the entire shoreline of the dam, which is 1,400 feet long. Some sections of the dam I thoroughly dissected three times. I also fished the spillway and the main-lake shoreline adjacent to the spillway.

The underwater terrain of the dam’s shoreline consists of limestone boulders, rather than riprap. Many of the boulders are about four feet long, 2 ½ feet wide, and 2 ½ feet high.  This earthen dam was constructed in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps. And many of these gigantic boulders that the CCC used to cover the earthen section have deteriorated during the past eight decades, and they have become rubbles of rocks.  The dam is 45 feet high and has about a 55-degree slope. The water’s edge possesses burgeoning patches of American water willows, a riprap jetty that supports a concrete water outlet tower, a few meager piles of brush and tree limbs, and several partially submerged logs.  The patches of American water willows are barely in the water.

I struggled to catch 17 largemouth bass along the dam. The TRD BugZ rig inveigled 15 of them, the Finesse WormZ rig allured one, and the FattyZ rig caught one. I partially hooked five fish that unfettered themselves before I could identify them. The 17 largemouth bass were caught in water as shallow as two feet and as deep as about eight feet. They were caught on either the initial drop of the rigs or as I was employing a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation.

The water’s edge along the shoreline of the spillway is flat. It is adorned with a large patch of cattails and some American water willows; these patches are in very shallow water. The underwater terrain consists of gravel and rocks, which are embellished with burgeoning patches of bushy pondweeds and Eurasian milfoil. As I was strolling with the TRD BugZ and using a swim-glide-and-shake presentation in about four to five feet of water, I caught two largemouth bass.

The last area I fished before my dental woes erupted was about a 250-yard stretch of the main-lake shoreline that is contagious to the spillway. It has a 25- to 50-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders; some of its shallow-water areas are becoming enhanced with patches of submerged aquatic vegetation. The water’s edge possesses some patches of shallow-water American water willows. To my chagrin, this shoreline yielded only one largemouth bass and two unhooked strikes, which were engendered by the TRD BugZ rig with a drag-and-shake presentation in about five feet of water.

In sum, I didn’t come close to equaling my May 9, 2013, grandiose catch rate of about 32 largemouth bass an hour. Instead, I caught about 10 an hour.  Like my octogenarian mouth and its teeth, the past 12 years haven’t been kind to the largemouth bass that inhabit this octogenarian reservoir. During the past 14 years, its waters have been waylaid by a minor case of the largemouth bass virus, heavy fishing pressure, many applications of aquatic herbicides, one massive flood, significant quantities of silt, and indefinable numbers and amounts of agricultural fertilizers and herbicides.

May 12

Bob Gum of Kansas City, Kansas, posted a brief log on the Finesse News Network about his outing with Nick Robertson of Overland Park, Kansas, on May 12 at one of the federal reservoirs in northeastern Kansas.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 45 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 82 degrees. The wind varied from calm to angling out of the north, east, northwest, northeast, southeast, and northeast at 3 to 8 mph. The conditions of the sky fluctuated from being fair to foggy and misty and hazy to cluttered with a few clouds. The barometric pressure was 30.03 at 12:52 a.m., 29.99 at 5:52 a.m., 29.94 at 11:52 a.m., and 29.84 at 2:52 p.m.

The water clarity was around 3.5 feet. The water level was around 2.5 feet high. The surface temperature warmed to 72 degrees.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would occur from 10:31 a.m. to 12:31 p.m., 10:54 p.m. to 12:54 a.m., and 4:20 a.m. to 6:20 a.m.

This was the third time I fished this federal reservoir in 2025, and something has been awry this spring. The number of fish and the quality of fish have taken a downturn. Typically, during this time of the year, you would see scores of bank fishermen catching crappies. Today, there was virtually no one bank fishing. Early in the afternoon, we crossed paths with a crappie angler who mentioned he had only caught seven crappies. 

We made our first casts at 6:30 a.m. along the riprap shoreline of a massive causeway and bridge in a major feeder-creek arm.

After we dissected portions of the riprap shoreline of the causeway, we spent the rest of this outing fishing around secondary, tertiary, and main-lake points. We also fished along many yards of secondary and main-lake shorelines.

We made our last casts at 2:00 p.m.

In sum, it was a very trying 7 ½ hours of fishing for largemouth bass and smallmouth bass. We caught six smallmouth bass and 10 largemouth bass, and accidentally caught one saugeye, five crappie, and a combination of 26 channel catfish and freshwater drum.  That is a total of 48 fish. That is an average of slightly more than six fish an hour and two black bass an hour.

We caught them in two to eight feet of water with primarily a swim-glide-and-occasional-shake presentation. We also caught them on an accidental deadstick presentation and the initial drop of our rigs.

My most effective Midwest finesse rigs were a Z-Man’s California-craw TRD HogZ on a black 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig and a Z-Man’s The Deal TRD TicklerZ on a black 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig.  Nick used a slightly shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s PB&J Finesse WormZ affixed to a blue 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead.

May 13

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network on May 13 about his outing at a 63-year-old and heavily fished state reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

It is sad but important to note that Bill Ward of Warsaw, Missouri, who was one of the forefathers of Midwest finesse fishing, died on May 10. At the age of 90, he was still showing us the virtues of geriatric angling with finesse tackle. And this May 13 outing is in memory of him. ( Here is a link to a short profile of Bill that details one of his contributions to Midwest finesse fishing: https://www.in-fisherman.com/editorial/short-history-of-marabou-jig/362980.)

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 52 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 84 degrees. The wind was calm for six hours, and when it stirred, it angled out of the east, south, and southeast at 3 to 12 mph with one gust of 22 mph.

The conditions of the sky varied from being foggy and misty to fair to cluttered with a few clouds. The barometric pressure was 29.77 at 12:52 a.m., 29.75 at 5:52 a.m., 29:74 at 11:52 a.m., and 29.69 at 1:52 p.m.

The water level looked to be about normal. The surface temperature was 73 degrees. The water exhibited about six feet of clarity at the boat ramp. Several areas were cluttered with untold numbers of wads of filamentous algae floating on the surface and suspended on the underwater terrains.  Some of the wads were quite enormous, and they encompassed many acres of water. What's more, all of this filamentous alga diminished the water clarity. 

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would occur from 11:23 p.m. to 1:23 a.m., 5:11 a.m. to 7:11 a.m., and 5:36 p.m. to 7:36 p.m.

I made my first cast at 11:05 p.m., and my last one at 1:05 p.m.

I spent 93 of the 120 minutes fishing along the riprap shoreline of the dam, which is 2,280 feet long and 58 feet high. The water’s edge is endowed with three patches of American water willows, a few small piles of tree limbs, and a couple of partially submerged logs. It possesses about a 60- to 70-degree slope. It has an outlet tower that allows water to flow out of the reservoir; this flow produces a tad of current. At times, largemouth bass tend to gather around this current, and I caught three of them around it today.

I fished the entire dam, and about 55 percent of it was cluttered with thousands of wads of filamentous algae.  Several large schools of gizzard shad sashayed over and around those wads, and some largemouth bass also inhabited the massive clusters of filamentous algae.

By the time my 120 minutes of fishing came to an end, my mechanical fish counter indicated that I had caught 32 largemouth bass and accidentally caught seven green sunfish and one redear sunfish. All of the largemouth bass and green sunfish were caught along the dam’s shoreline. 

The redear sunfish was caught as I fished around a main-lake point and along about a 120-yard stretch of one of its adjacent shorelines. The point was fruitless.  I elicited two strikes that I failed to hook along the shoreline.

Four of the 32 largemouth bass were caught on a slightly shortened 3.25-inch Z-Man’s Canada-craw TRD FattyZ affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. A slightly shortened Z-Man’s watermelon-red Finesse WormZ affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead caught six largemouth bass. Eleven were caught on a 2.75-inch Bama-bug TRD BugZ attached to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. And another eleven were inveigled on a 2.75-inch Canada-craw TRD BugZ attached to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ.

The TRD FattyZ rig is at the top of this photograph. The Finesse WormZ rig is the second from the top. The Bama-bug TRD BugZ rig is the third one. The Canada-craw TRD BugZ rig is on the bottom.

Twelve of the 32 were caught on the initial drop of the rig in two to four feet of water. The others were caught as I used a swim-glide-and-shake presentation in four to about eight feet of water around the wads of filamentous algae.

Twenty-five of the 32 were caught in an hour and 12 minutes. Overall, the catch rate was an average of 16 largemouth bass an hour.

May 16

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his May 16 outing at an 86-year-old community reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 51 degrees. The afternoon's high temperature was 81 degrees. The sky varied from fair to scattered with a few clouds. The wind angled out of the south, southwest, northwest, and west at 3 to 22 mph, and there were untold numbers of gusts that howled at 26 to 38 mph. The barometric pressure was 29.67 at 12:53 a.m., 29.60 at 5:53 a.m., 29.63 at 11:53 a.m., and 29.63 at 3:53 p.m.  

The water level looked to be a touch below normal. The surface temperature was 74 degrees. The water exhibited 2 ½ to 4 ½ feet of visibility.

Because the Kansas Department of Health and Environment had issued a blue-green-algae warning on this reservoir, I was somewhat reluctant to fish it.  But the many, huge, and swirling gusts of west-by-northwest winds made all of the other nearby community, federal, and state reservoirs uncomfortable and unenjoyable to fish.   

In-Fisherman's Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would occur from 1:45 a.m. to 3:45 a.m., 2:12 p.m. to 4:12 p.m., and 7:59 a.m. to 9:59 a.m. 

I made my first cast at 1:22 p.m., which was 49 hours after I had my two central incisor teeth removed. These teeth were broken while I was fishing and periodically munching on an apple on May 9.  The surgeon who removed them recommended that I should rest and not fish for 48 hours.

My first cast was made around a main-lake point in the upper half of this reservoir, and it yielded a largemouth bass that engulfed the initial drop of a Z-Man’s Bama-craw TRD BugZ and a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead in about three feet of water. The underwater terrain of this point consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders that are enhanced with several small patches of Eurasian milfoil. It has a 60-degree slope. The water’s edge possesses patches of American water willows, a few piles of tree limbs, and one minor laydown. When I caught the first largemouth bass, I was somewhat sheltered from the swirling gusts of wind. The water exhibited about 2 ½ to three feet of visibility. I caught another largemouth bass on a shortened Z-Man’s Junebug TRD TicklerZ on a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead with a slow swim-glide-and-subtle-shake presentation in four to five feet of water; a swirling gust of wind created a major bow in my line during this retrieve and I was unaware that this largemouth bass had engulfed this rig; in other words, it caught me.

I spent the rest of this outing fishing along about 1,000 yards of a somewhat wind-sheltered shoreline; it is immediately adjacent to the dam.  It possesses three main-lake points, one tertiary point, and a spillway. The water exhibited about 4 ½ feet of clarity. The underwater water terrains of the shoreline and points consist of gravel, rocks, and boulders that are occasionally coated with Eurasian milfoil. The water’s edge is lined with many patches of American water willows, one dock, several laydowns, a few overhanging trees, and occasional piles of tree limbs. The slope of these areas ranges from 25 to 50 degrees.

One of the main-lake points yielded two largemouth bass, which engulfed the initial drop of a radically shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse WormZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. This Finesse WormZ is 3 ½-inches long. This point has about a 30-degree slope. They were caught in about three feet of water along the outside edge of the American water willows and amongst patches of Eurasian milfoil.

Another main-lake point yielded four smallmouth bass and six largemouth bass. This point has a 40- to 45-degree slope. The Junebug TRD TicklerZ rig inveigled three smallmouth bass and one largemouth bass. The Junebug Finesse WormZ allured one smallmouth bass and four largemouth bass. Three of these 10 black bass were caught on the initial drop in about three to four feet of water. The other six were caught on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation.  One was caught next to a small laydown and pile of tree limbs. The others were caught several feet from the outside edges of the patches of American water willows and amongst a few patches of Eurasian milfoil.

One largemouth bass was caught on a large patch of Eurasian milfoil at the third main-lake point. This point is flat with about a 25-degree slope, and it has a significant ledge that plummets into deep water. The Finesse WormZ rig with a swim-glide-and-shake presentation allured this bass inside the patch of milfoil in about five feet of water. The wind gusts around this point were unmanageable for most of the casts and retrieves that I tried to execute.  

The tertiary point failed to yield a fish.

The 1,000 yards of the shoreline produced seven largemouth bass and 19 smallmouth bass. They were allured by the Junebug Finesse WormZ rig.  

One of the 19 smallmouth bass was caught adjacent to a laydown in about five feet of water with a swimming presentation in about 3 ½ feet of water. Another smallmouth bass was caught on the initial drop along the outside edge of an overhanging eastern red cedar tree in about three feet of water.  The bulk of the 17 smallmouth bass were caught along about a 50-yard stretch of this massive shoreline. Some of these smallmouth bass were about four to five feet from the outside edges of the patches of American water willows in about 3 ½ to four feet of water, and they were abiding around either some boulders or meager patches of Eurasian milfoil. A few others were caught in the shade created by a tree along the edge of the shoreline; the underwater terrain of this shaded area was enhanced by small piles of rocks and boulders in five to eight feet of water. Two of these 17 smallmouth bass were inveigled in eight to 10 feet of water as I was about to end the retrieve. A few were caught on the initial drop of the Finesse WormZ; the others were allured by either a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation that polished the rocks and boulders or a drag-pause-and-shake presentation in five to 10 feet of water. Six of the smallmouth bass were caught in back-to-back casts.

The largemouth bass were widely scattered along this 1,000-yard shoreline. Two were associated with the bevy of smallmouth bass along that 50-yard stretch. Two were caught on the initial drop in three to four feet of water; the other four were caught on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in five to about eight feet of water.  

I made my last casts at 3:40 p.m. when I caught black bass number 40. During this two-hour-and-18-minute outing, I caught an average of about 17 black bass an hour, I also accidentally caught one freshwater drum, one crappie, and two green sunfish. I elicited a significant number of strikes that I failed to hook and temporarily hooked six that unfettered themselves within a few seconds of being hooked.

Thirty-two of the 40 black bass were allured by the 3 1/2-inch Z-Man's Junebug Finesse WormZ and a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead, which had the hook's barb removed to prevent from seriously injuring the fish it hooked.

Except for the hellish wind, it was a delightful way to celebrate the end of my dental woes.

May 20

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his May 20 outing. 

Roger Farish of Highland Village, Texas, and I fished at a challenging federal hill-land reservoir in the Dallas metropolitan area. This was Roger’s first outing in 2025. 

The last time I fished at this reservoir was on April 29 with Todd Judy of Denton, when we plied this reservoir from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. It was overcast that day and the water was murky from heavy rains. The water temperature ranged from 68 to 72 degrees. The fishing was very disappointing; we struggled the entire six hours of this outing and caught only seven largemouth bass and three spotted bass.

It was sunny on May 20, and there wasn’t a cloud in sight. The morning’s low temperature was 64 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature warmed to 83 degrees. The barometric pressure measured 29.70 at 6:00 a.m. and 29.82 at noon. The wind blew continuously out of the northwest at 10 to 20 mph. 

The water level was 1.53 feet high. The water clarity ranged from 12 to 24 inches. The surface temperature varied from 72 to 76 degrees.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that fishing would be poor on May 20, and the most productive fishing would occur between 5:31 a.m. and 7:31 a.m., 11:19 a.m. and 1:19 p.m., and 5:55 p.m. to 7:55 p.m. 

We fished from 6:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.

We concentrated our efforts in mostly wind-protected areas in the lower end of the reservoir, and we were dismayed to discover that the black-bass fishing at this reservoir hasn’t improved one iota since April 29; our best efforts produced six largemouth bass and four spotted bass. We also crossed paths with one channel catfish, one white bass, and one large bluegill.

These 10 black bass were abiding in three to seven feet of water. A couple were caught around two rock-and-boulder-laden main-lake points; two were caught from a couple of rocky main-lake shorelines; two more were caught around some patches of flooded buck brush that adorn the shallow-water areas of an island at the mouth of a feeder creek; and the other four were caught around flat and rocky secondary shorelines in the lower sections of four of the five feeder-creek arms. 

We also slowly and methodically dissected 13 other rocky secondary points, nine other rocky main-lake shorelines varying in length from 75 to 200 yards, three secondary clay-and-gravel flats, and the areas around three concrete boat ramps inside the five feeder creeks, and all of these locales were devoid of largemouth and spotted bass. In short, we had to cover a lot of water, and we were unable to develop any dominant location pattern. 

We employed a total of 13 Midwest finesse combos and we caught fish on four of them. We caught eight of the 10 black bass on a Z-Man’s pearl Baby Goat rigged on either a blue or chartreuse 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead with a steady-swimming retrieve. Another largemouth bass was allured by a swim-glide-and-shake retrieve with a Z-Man’s watermelon-red Finesse ShadZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. And one spotted bass was coaxed into striking a 3 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ matched to a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead with a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation. 

In conclusion, this reservoir has been a tough nut for us to crack this year, and we are no closer to deciphering the whereabouts of the largemouth and spotted bass that inhabit this reservoir than we were in March and April. We suspect that something is amiss with this impoundment, and it may be another couple of weeks or so before we return here again. 

May 21

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, and Travis Perret of Overland Park, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about their May 21 outing at an 86-year-old community reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

Travis, by the way, is the Facebook manager of the Finesse News Network: (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1790450444537568/user/1415733239/.).

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 46 degrees. The afternoon's high temperature was 73 degrees. The sky was fair. The wind angled out of the northwest and west at 3 to 18 mph. The barometric pressure was 29.88 at 12:53 a.m., 29.94 at 5:53 a.m., 30.02 at 11:53 a.m., and 29.99 at 2:53 p.m.

The water level looked to be normal. The surface temperature ranged from 70 to 71 degrees. The water exhibited about three feet of visibility in the upper half of this reservoir and about six feet of clarity along the dam.  We were the only anglers afloat on this usually heavily fished suburban waterway,

In-Fisherman's Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would occur from 6:13 a.m. to 8:13 a.m., 6:37 p.m. to 8:37 p.m., and 12:01 a.m. to 2:01 a.m.

We made our first casts at 10:29 a.m. and the last ones at 2:29 p.m. During these four hours, we caught 49 largemouth bass and 28 smallmouth bass, and accidentally caught one crappie, one walleye, three channel catfish, three freshwater drum, seven bluegill, and nine green sunfish.

One largemouth bass was caught on a radically shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse WormZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead; this Finesse WormZ was about 3 1/2-inches long.  Two largemouth bass were caught on a Z-Man’s Bama-craw TRD BugZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. A slightly shortened 3.25-inch Z-Man’s PB&J TRD FattyZ on a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead caught two largemouth bass and two smallmouth bass. A radically shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s PB&J Finesse WormZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead caught 20 largemouth bass and 11 smallmouth bass; this Finesse WormZ was about 3 1/2-inches long.  A 2 ½-inch Z-Man’s PB&J ZinkerZ on a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ Jighead caught 13 smallmouth bass and 24 largemouth bass.

Our two most productive Midwest finesse rigs: the PB&J TRD at the top and the PB&J Finesse WormZ at the bottom.

Our primary presentation of these rigs was a swim-glide-and-shake retrieve. But eight were caught on the initial drop of our rigs, a few were caught on a drag-pause-and-shake presentation, and two were caught on an accidental deadstick presentation. They were caught in two to nine feet of water.

We caught five smallmouth bass and 10 largemouth bass along about a 700-yard stretch of a main-lake shoreline in the lower half of the reservoir. It possesses the entry to the reservoir's spillway, two main-lake points, and one tertiary point. The water exhibited about 4 ½ to five feet of clarity. The underwater terrains of the shoreline and points consist of gravel, rocks, and boulders that are occasionally coated with submerged patches of Eurasian milfoil. The water’s edge is lined with many patches of American water willows, one dock, several well-worn laydowns, a few overhanging trees, and occasional piles of tree limbs. The slope of these areas ranges from 25 to 50 degrees. One of the 10 largemouth bass was caught on the Junebug Finesse WormZ rig. The PB&J TRD FattyZ rig caught two largemouth bass and two smallmouth bass. The PB&J ZinkerZ rig inveigled three smallmouth bass and seven largemouth bass. One of the 15 was caught next to a well-worn laydown. Another one was caught around a small pile of tree limbs. The others were caught along the patches of American water willows, and most of them were caught from four to 10 feet from the outside edge of these patches and amongst aggregations of rocks, boulders, and an occasional patch of Eurasian milfoil.

We fished around two secondary points and along short portions of three secondary shorelines inside a small feeder-creek arm in the lower half of the reservoir. This feeder-creek arm yielded 15 largemouth bass; seven were caught on the PB&J ZinkerZ rig and eight were caught on the PB&J Finesse WormZ rig. They were caught in three to six feet of water.  The underwater terrains consist of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are adorned with occasional patches of Eurasian milfoil and a few piles of tree limbs. Patches of American water willows grace the bulk of the water’s edges. There are also three docks, a few laydowns, several wonderful overhanging trees, and some overhanging terrestrial vegetation. This terrain possesses a 25- to 40-degree slope. One largemouth bass was caught on a secondary point next to a laydown. Nine largemouth bass were caught under and around a massive collection of three overhanging trees, some overhanging terrestrial vegetation, and meager patches of Eurasian milfoil. The other five were caught along the outside edge of the patches of American water willows that were enhanced with some patches of Eurasian milfoil and a few submerged tree branches.

We caught two largemouth bass along an offshore submerged rock and boulder fence. One was caught on the PB&J ZinkerZ rig, and the second one was caught on the PB&J Finesse WormZ.  Portions of the inside edge of this submerged fence are endowed with patches of Eurasian milfoil. This offshore spot is in the lower third of this reservoir and between the mouths of two large feeder-creek arms.

Around a main-lake point and a short stretch of its secondary shoreline, we caught two smallmouth bass and six largemouth bass. This area has a 45- to 50-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, and a man-made pile of concrete blocks. The water’s edge possesses several well-worn laydowns, some stumps, and wonderful patches of American water willows. The ZinkerZ rig allured one smallmouth bass and two largemouth bass; one of the largemouth bass was caught around a laydown in about four feet of water; the smallmouth bass and the other largemouth bass were caught in the vicinity of the concrete blocks in about six to seven feet of water and many feet from the outside edges of the patches of American water willows. The PB&J Finesse WormZ rig caught one smallmouth bass and four largemouth bass; the smallmouth bass was caught in about nine feet of water; the four largemouth bass were caught along the edges of the American water willows in about three to four feet of water.

In the middle section of the reservoir, we fished along about an 850-yard stretch of a main-lake shoreline and around two main-lake points.  This area yielded seven largemouth bass and 15 smallmouth bass. This area has a 30- to 75-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, and some concrete scraps, which are enhanced at spots with significant 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 dense patches of American water willows. One of the main-lake points possesses a riprap jetty. The PB&J ZinkerZ rig caught four largemouth bass and seven smallmouth bass. The PB&J Finesse WormZ rig caught three largemouth bass and eight smallmouth bass. Seven of these 22 black bass were caught in and long the outside edges of the patches of Eurasian milfoil in about six feet of water. The other 15 were caught along the outside edges of the patches of American water willows in four to five feet of water.

Around a main-lake point in the upper half of this reservoir, we caught two largemouth bass. The underwater terrain of this point consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders that are enhanced with several small patches of Eurasian milfoil. It has a 60-degree slope. The water’s edge possesses patches of American water willows, a few piles of tree limbs, and one minor laydown. One largemouth bass was caught around a patch of Eurasian milfoil in about five feet of water on the Bama-craw TRD BugZ rig. The PB&J ZinkerZ rig allured the second largemouth bass along the outside edge of another patch of Eurasian milfoil in about five to six feet of water. 

We struggled to catch two largemouth bass along about a 350-yard stretch of a main-lake shoreline in the upper half of the reservoir. It has a 30- to 50-degree slope. The underwater terrain contains gravel, rocks, boulders, several PVC pipes, a few stumps, some patches of Eurasian milfoil, and one slightly offshore hump. The water’s edge is enlightened with patches of American water willows and some significant overhanging trees. The PB&J Finesse WormZ rig caught the two largemouth bass; one was caught under an overhanging tree in about six feet of water; the second one was caught around a patch of Eurasian milfoil in about four feet of water.

We finished this four-hour outing by quickly fishing along the riprap shoreline of the dam, which is 2,200 feet long. This shoreline has a 45- to 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 some patches of Eurasian milfoil. We caught five largemouth bass and six smallmouth bass. The Bama-Bug TRD BugZ rig caught one largemouth bass. The PB&J TRD FattyZ rig caught two smallmouth bass. The PB&J Finesse WormZ rig caught two largemouth bass and two smallmouth bass. The PB&J ZinkerZ rig caught two largemouth bass and two smallmouth bass. The most productive area was around patches of submerged Eurasian milfoil along the eastern end of the shoreline. We caught these black bass in water as shallow as three feet and as deep as eight feet.

In conclusion, I was grateful that Travis reintroduced me to the virtues of the PB&J hue, which I had not wielded for many years. What’s more, I always used the PB&J hue on a blue jighead, and I would have never used it with a chartreuse jighead until he vividly revealed my ignorance.

Travis is a tournament angler, but this was a recreational outing, and our focus was not to try to catch five black bass that weighed a total of 25 pounds. Instead, we were trying to catch an average of 25 black bass an hour. Even though we failed to reach that goal, we did catch a variety of 101 fish in four hours. 

May 23

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his May 23 outing. 

The latter part of May has been a tough time for me and my cohorts to catch black bass in north-central Texas. For example, Roger Farish of Highland Village, Texas, and I caught only 10 largemouth bass and spotted bass in six hours at a federal hill-land reservoir on May 20.  Even worse, John Thomas of Denton and I fished for 5 1/2 hours on May 22 at another federal reservoir, and we could barely scrounge up seven largemouth bass during that perplexing outing. I was frustrated with our paltry catch on May 22, and I couldn’t muster the enthusiasm to describe the wretched black-bass fishing in a Finesse News Network report.  

On May 23, Bear Brundrett of Valley View, Texas, and I opted to fish at another popular federal hill-land reservoir in north-central Texas before the Memorial Day weekend crowds arrived en masses. 

The last time I fished at this reservoir was on May 7, when John Thomas and I had a decent outing and caught 13 largemouth bass and six spotted bass in four hours. 

In-Fisherman's solunar calendar forecasted poor fishing for May 23, and the most lucrative fishing periods would occur from 1:22 a.m. to 3:22 a.m., 7:34 a.m. to 9:34 a.m., and 7:59 p.m. to 9:59 p.m. 

We fished from about 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 

It was sunny, and the sky was cloudless. The morning’s low temperature was 64 degrees. The afternoon’s high temperature reached 96 degrees. The wind angled out of the southeast at 5 to 10 mph. The barometric pressure measured 29.97 at 7:00 a.m. and 29.94 at noon.

The water temperature ranged from 71 degrees at the dam at the lower end of the reservoir to 80 degrees at the upper end of a major feeder-creek arm in the east tributary arm. The water level was 1.52 feet above normal.  The water displayed about three feet of clarity.

We focused our attention inside one minor main-lake cove, along a main-lake shoreline, inside two major feeder-creek arms, and along the center portion of the riprap-laden dam in the reservoir’s lower end. The submerged terrain at these locales is composed of mostly red clay, small gravel, chunk rocks, and countless numbers of large boulders. Several areas are also graced with significant patches of Eurasian milfoil.

We began fishing inside the minor main-lake cove at the lower end of the east tributary where we launched the boat. After launching the boat, we immediately deployed the trolling motor and began casting. On the north side of the cove, we slowly dissected a riprap-covered jetty with a fishing pier that extends outward into deep water from the end of the jetty, a 25-yard segment of a riprap-laden main-lake shoreline adjacent to the riprap jetty, another 30-yard stretch of a riprap shoreline that is situated a few yards from the boat ramp on the south side of the cove, the adjacent rocky main-lake point at the mouth of the cove, and an adjoining main-lake shoreline just south of the point. We failed to catch a largemouth bass, spotted bass, and elicit a strike. 

Inside the first feeder-creek arm, which lies a short distance from the main-lake cove that we just fished, we caught 16 largemouth bass and one spotted bass. 

Around the perimeter of an island that is situated at the lower end of the creek arm, we caught 11 largemouth bass and one spotted bass. This island is enhanced with several large patches of Eurasian milfoil, chunky rocks, gravel, and many scattered boulders. One largemouth bass was caught in three feet of water near a large patch of submerged boulders at the northwest end of the island. It was caught on a moderate-paced swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ rigged on a red 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. The other 10 largemouth bass and the one spotted bass were caught in five to seven feet of water around several medium-size mats of Eurasian milfoil on the northeast end of the island. Ten of these 11 black bass were enticed by a slow-swimming retrieve with the 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ rig. The other largemouth bass was induced by a slow swim-glide-and-shake retrieve with a shortened Z-Man’s sprayed-grass TRD TicklerZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead.  

One largemouth bass was caught in five feet of water from the tip of a flat-and-rocky secondary point on the north side of the creek arm and just east of the island. This largemouth bass was enticed by a swimming presentation with the 2 1/2-inch pearl Slim SwimZ rig. An adjacent 75-yard rocky secondary shoreline failed to yield a strike. 

Four largemouth bass were caught in five to seven feet of water around patches of submerged boulders mixed with chunky rocks and gravel along a 50-yard section of the shoreline on the south side and lower portion of this creek arm. Three of them were fooled by the shortened Z-Man’s sprayed-grass TRD TicklerZ combo, and the fourth one engulfed a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse TRD matched with a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead and a slow swim-glide-and-shake retrieve. 

We failed to catch any largemouth or spotted bass around several other rocky secondary points, an offshore rock pile, and a humongous patch of Eurasian milfoil next to the offshore rock pile in the middle and upper sections of this creek arm.    

From the first feeder-creek arm, we traveled to the center section of the dam, which is about two miles west of the first creek arm. The center of the dam features a large concrete water-outlet tower with a walkway extending out to the tower from 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. The dam is covered with riprap.

The walls of the outlet tower relinquished two largemouth bass. The two largemouth bass were suspended five to eight feet deep below the surface of the water and within a couple of feet of the tower’s walls. They were caught on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation with the 2 1/2-inch green-pumpkin Finesse TRD rig.

We failed to elicit any strikes from around the two concrete support columns under the walkway.

A 75-yard stretch of riprap that covers the center portion of the dam relinquished one freshwater drum and one channel catfish. They were caught many yards apart along the riprap in three to five feet of water and 10 to 15 feet from the water’s edge. The catfish was tempted by a slow swim-glide-and-shake retrieve with the shortened sprayed-grass TRD TicklerZ rig. The freshwater drum was fooled by a slow swim-glide-and-shake retrieve with the green-pumpkin Finesse TRD combo.

From the dam, we meandered about three miles northward to the midsection of the east tributary arm, where we dissected portions of a second feeder-creek arm. This creek arm yielded seven largemouth bass, 10 crappie, three freshwater drum, one channel catfish, and a large bluegill.  We caught one largemouth bass and one channel catfish in four to seven feet of water from the top of a long and flat entry point to the creek arm. They were allured by a slow swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s Slam Shady GrubZ affixed on a black 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. 

We also probed several flat secondary points and a cove that are embellished with some large patches of Eurasian milfoil. One of the secondary points relinquished two largemouth bass that were abiding in three to five feet of water near the end of the point in the lower end of the creek arm. One was caught on a Z-Man’s watermelon-red Salty Ned ShrimpZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. The other one was caught on a Z-Man’s sexy-penny Salty Ned ShrimpZ fastened on a chartreuse 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. Both of these lures were employed with a slow swim-and-constant-shake retrieve. We failed to elicit any strikes from a couple of other clay-and-gravel secondary points.

Two largemouth bass, 10 crappie, and a large bluegill were inveigled from a large patch of Eurasian milfoil about the size of a tennis court. This patch of milfoil is located inside a large pocket of a cove on the north side of this creek arm. This patch of milfoil is covered with one to five feet of water. These 13 fish were allured by either the watermelon-red Salty Ned ShrimpZ rig or the sexy-penny Salty Ned ShrimpZ rig with a slow swim-and-constant-shake technique.  The last largemouth bass was caught in four feet of water near one of several patches of Eurasian milfoil on a large clay-and-gravel flat at the upper end of this creek arm. This largemouth bass was also attracted to the sexy-penny Salty Ned ShrimpZ rig and a slow swim-and-constant-shake presentation.   

In conclusion, the fishing was significantly better at this federal reservoir than the other two we plied on May 20 and 22.  During this five-hour jaunt, we caught 26 black bass, which consisted of 25 largemouth bass and one spotted bass. We also spent about 45 minutes of these five hours pursuing crappie, and we caught 10 of them. Besides the 26 black bass and 10 crappie, we also crossed paths with four freshwater drum, two channel catfish, and a large bluegill.

May 27 

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his May 27 outing. 

Memorial Day weekend was wet and windy in north-central Texas and southern Oklahoma, which kept many holiday revelers at bay.  

On May 27, John Thomas of Denton joined me for a 6 1/2-hour smallmouth-bass excursion to a charming federal reservoir in southern Oklahoma. Since the black-bass fishing has been mostly lackluster in north-central Texas this year, this reservoir has been the one bright spot in our piscatorial endeavors. Unfortunately, our opportunities for springtime smallmouth bass fishing at this reservoir comes to a screeching halt around the end of May once the water temperature reaches 80 degrees.

May 27 was overcast and it sprinkled on us as we launched the boat at about 9:15 a.m.  At 12:25 p.m., the clouds began to break up and it became sunny. A mild breeze meandered out of the northwest, north, and northeast at 5 to 10 mph. The morning’s low temperature was 64 degrees, and the afternoon’s high reached 79 degrees. The barometric pressure was steady at 30.02.

A rare excellent fishing day was forecasted by In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar. The calendar also indicated that the most productive fishing would occur from 5:03 a.m. to 7:03 a.m., 5:35 p.m. to 7:35 p.m., and 11:51 p.m. to 1:51 a.m.

We fished from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The water was dingy from the recent rains and exhibited around 2 1/2 to three feet of clarity. Normally, the water clarity varies from four to seven feet. The surface temperature ranged from 68 to 69 degrees. The water level appeared to be about three feet high.

We launched the boat inside a major feeder-creek arm in the lower end of the reservoir’s west tributary arm, and we began dissecting a series of four large rocky secondary points, two sand-and-gravel flats, and a main-lake bluff point at the entrance to this creek arm. These areas are located in the lower and middle sections of the creek arm. 

Around the four rocky secondary points and the two sand-and-gravel flats, we caught eight smallmouth bass and one largemouth bass. We also crossed paths with a small school of white bass that were surface-foraging on threadfin shad at one of the secondary points, and we caught two of them before they quickly dispersed. These 11 fish were abiding in three to nine feet of water. Two smallmouth bass and another white bass were caught around the main-lake bluff point at the entrance to this creek arm. 

We didn’t venture into the upper end of this creek arm.

Seven smallmouth bass were caught from two of three offshore main-lake humps. Two are situated in the midsection of the west tributary arm, and the third hump is located in this tributary’s lower end. These three humps are covered with chunky rocks and boulders, and the top of the humps are covered with two to three feet of water. The first hump surrendered two smallmouth bass, the second hump yielded five smallmouth bass, and the third one was fruitless. These seven smallmouth bass were abiding around the perimeter of the humps in three to nine feet of water.

Along six main-lake shorelines in the middle and upper portions of the west tributary arm, we caught 28 smallmouth bass and four channel catfish. They were dwelling in water as shallow as three feet and as deep as nine feet and were along the deep-water sides of several shallow rock ledges that parallel these shorelines.

We finished this outing probing a rocky main-lake point and its adjoining 100-yard-long bluff shoreline in the lower end of the reservoir, and we caught 15 smallmouth bass, one largemouth bass, one spotted bass, another white bass, and a large green sunfish. The main-lake rocky point yielded one of the 15 smallmouth bass, and the bluff shoreline relinquished the other 14 smallmouth bass, the largemouth bass, the spotted bass, and one white bass. These 18 fish were caught around submerged boulders along the main-lake point and the bluff's shoreline in three to 21 feet of water.

In sum, we inveigled 63 black bass, which consisted of 60 smallmouth bass, two largemouth bass, and one spotted bass. We also inadvertently caught four channel catfish, four white bass, a large green sunfish, and one large green sunfish.

We wielded a total of 13 Midwest finesse combos, and four of them were productive. Thirty-six black bass were allured by a steady-swimming retrieve with a three-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ matched to a chartreuse 3/32-ounce OG Mushroom Jighead. Seventeen were tempted by a shortened 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD TicklerZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom jighead and employed with a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation. Another six were enticed by a slow swim-glide-and-shake retrieve with a chartreuse 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead sporting a Z-Man’s watermelon-red Salty Ned ShrimpZ. Two more were induced into striking a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead dressed with a Z-Man’s hot-craw Finesse TRD with a slow swim-glide-and-shake retrieve. One smallmouth bass and one spotted bass engulfed a shortened 3 1/2-inch Z-Man’s geeen-pumpkin Finesse WormZ fastened on a chartreuse 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead that was manipulated with a slow swim-glide-and-shake retrieve.  

May 28

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his outing at a 63-year-old and heavily fished state reservoir in northeastern Kansas on May 28.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 55 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 69 degrees. The wind fluctuated from calm to variable to angling from the northwest, north, and east at 3 to 9 mph; there was one wind gust of 16 mph. The conditions of the sky varied from overcast to mostly cloudy. The barometric pressure was 30.12 at 12:52 a.m., 30.11 at 5:52 a.m., 30.13 at 11:52 a.m., and 30.11 at 2:52 p.m.

The water level looked to be several inches above normal. The surface temperature was 70 degrees. The water exhibited from about four to six feet of clarity at the boat ramp and dam.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would occur from 11:46 a.m. to 1:46 p.m., 12:18 p.m. to 2:18 p.m., and 6:02 a.m. to 8:02 a.m.

This was another one of my short geriatric or octogenarian outings. I made my first cast at 1:36 p.m., and I made my last one at 3:01 p.m. when I caught largemouth bass number 30.

I spent these 85 minutes fishing along the riprap shoreline of the dam, which is 2,280 feet long and 58 feet high. The water’s edge is endowed with five small and shallow patches of American water willows, a few small piles of tree limbs, and a couple of partially submerged logs. It possesses about a 60- to 70-degree slope. It has an outlet tower that allows water to flow out of the reservoir; this flow produces a tad of current. At times, a few largemouth bass tend to gather around this current, and I caught two largemouth bass around it today. I caught one largemouth bass on a shallow-water flat at the end of the dam, which is enhanced with patches of American pondweeds and bushy pondweeds.

I caught these 30 largemouth bass on a shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s PB&J Finesse WormZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead; it also allured nine green sunfish. This rig is 3 1/2 inches long.

The 3 1/2-inch  PB&J Finesse WormZ rig.

Seven largemouth bass were caught on the initial drop of the rig. One was caught on a swimming presentation many yards from the water’s edge on the top of the patches of pondweeds at the beginning of the shallow-water flat at the end of the dam. One was caught on a deadstick-and-shake presentation. The others were allured either by a swim-glide-and-subtle-shake presentation or a swim-glide-and-no-shake presentation. They were caught in water as shallow as about three feet and as deep as 10 feet.

My catch rate was an average of 20 largemouth bass an hour.

In closing, I am sorry to note that Midwest finesse anglers have lost one of our grandmasters: Steve Desch of Topeka, Kansas.

May 29

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his May 29 outing. 

Norman Brown of Lewisville joined me for a five-hour excursion to a state reservoir in north-central Texas. This reservoir is not known for relinquishing many lunker-size largemouth bass. And according to a 2018 Texas Parks and Wildlife Lake Survey, there are more spotted bass in this reservoir than largemouth bass.

The sky was overcast for most of the day. We did keep our eyes on a couple of scattered thunderstorms that erupted just north and east of the reservoir, and the outer fringes of these storms sprinkled on us occasionally. There was a short 30-minute spell during midday when the sky became mostly cloudy and the sun shone through a couple of openings in the clouds; then it became overcast again. The morning low temperature was 63 degrees and the afternoon high was 91 degrees. The wind quartered out of the northwest and north at 5 to 10 mph.  The barometric pressure was 30.01 at 8:00 a.m. and 30.00 at 1:00 p.m. 

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would occur from 1:03 a.m. to 3:03 a.m., 7:19 a.m. to 9:19 a.m., and 1:34 p.m. to 3:34 p.m. It also forecasted average fishing for May 29.

We fished from around 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., and we fished around a variety of environs such as main-lake points, a major main-lake bluff, a riprap-laden dam, several large grass beds situated in the middle and back ends of three creek arms, and a couple of main-lake flats adorned with a hodgepodge of submerged vegetation, small boulders and rocks, and a rock pile. Most of these areas surrendered a bass or two, but a couple of them surrendered up to six bass. But there were several areas that were adorned with substantial amounts of aquatic vegetation but were completely devoid of  black bass. And by the time we executed our last casts and retrieves at 1:00 p.m., we had caught a mixed bag of 22 largemouth bass and three spotted bass. We also enjoyed catching six impressive bluegills that were larger than our hands in size. 

The water displayed an unusual brownish tint with about 18 inches of clarity. We speculated that the brownish tint was the remnants of muddy water that had flowed into the reservoir during the recent spring rains. The surface temperature ranged from 74 to 76 degrees. The water level appeared to be about three feet high. 

This reservoir is endowed with several varieties of aquatic vegetation such as American pondweeds, American water willows, hydrilla, muskgrass, coontail, and yellow floating-heart. Its submerged terrain is composed of mostly clay, small gravel, chunky rocks, and boulders. There are also some submerged stumps and small areas of standing timber in the creek arms.

We employed 12 Midwest finesse rigs and six of them were effective. Six largemouth bass and one spotted bass were caught on a slow swimming presentation with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pumpkin-chartreuse ZinkerZ rigged on a green-pumpkin 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig. Six largemouth bass were enticed by a Z-Man’s new-penny Salty Ned ShrimpZ affixed on a chartreuse 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead and a slow swim-glide-and-shake retrieve. A chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead dressed with a slightly shortened Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD TicklerZ and a slow swim-glide-and-shake technique enticed five largemouth bass and one spotted bass. A slow-swimming retrieve with a 3 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pumpkin Finesse WormZ matched with a 1/16-ounce green-pumpkin mushroom-style jig fooled three largemouth bass. A steady-swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ fastened to a chartreuse 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead allured one largemouth bass and one spotted bass. And a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ rigged on a blue 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s and employed with a steady-swimming retrieve tempted one largemouth bass. 

Around the main-lake areas that we fished, we caught three largemouth bass and one spotted bass in close proximity to three rocky main-lake points. These points are situated in the middle and upper sections of the reservoir and have 25- to 50-degree gradients. Their underwater terrains consist of clay, small gravel, chunk rock, and boulders along with submerged patches of hydrilla. These black bass were caught along the sides of the submerged boulders in five to seven feet of water.

We caught one largemouth bass in five feet of water along the deep-water side of a shallow rock ledge that parallels a rocky main-lake shoreline in the midsection of the reservoir.  This shoreline is steep, and the shallow rock ledge is covered with large chunky rocks, boulders, and laydowns. This largemouth bass was abiding in five feet of water where the ledge begins to radically descend into 20-plus feet of water. 

Along the outside edges of flooded patches of American water willows that embellish the water’s edge of a main-lake flat that is located in the middle section of the reservoir, we caught two largemouth bass in two to four feet of water.    

We slowly and methodically dissected the entire length of a small dam, which is about 75-yards long and located in the northeast region of the reservoir. This dam is composed of large chunky rocks and many broken tree limbs and small branches that have washed up on the riprap along the water’s edge. After a slew of casts and retrieves around the riprap, we caught one largemouth bass that was extracted about five feet out from the water’s edge. We garnered a couple of other strikes that we suspected were bluegill or some other type of small panfish, but we were unable to hook those fish. 

One spotted bass and one largemouth bass were caught across a main-lake flat next to a minor main-lake point. This flat is located in the lower end of the reservoir. The submerged terrain of this flat is composed of clay, pea gravel, rocks, a few small patches of submerged hydrilla, and about half a dozen small submerged stumps. There are also thick patches of American water willows that line the water’s edge, and a couple of minor patches of coontail that grace portions of the shallow-water areas. Both of these bass were caught along the outside edges of the patches of American water willows in three to five feet of water.  

Another main-lake flat near the first one is graced with patches of submerged yellow floating-heart, hydrilla, and muskgrass. This flat yielded two largemouth bass. They were caught around the outside edges of the patches of yellow floating-heart in three to five feet of water. 

Inside three feeder-creek arms, we caught 12 largemouth bass and one spotted bass in the midsections of the creek arms. These black bass were caught in three to seven feet of water along flat secondary shorelines that are adorned with decorative-rock retaining walls that are enhanced with chunk rock that reinforces the base of the retaining walls. The more productive spots along the retaining walls had a mixture of submerged hydrilla, pondweeds, and coontail that lie in close proximity to the base of the walls. Besides the chunk rock and aquatic vegetation, portions of these shorelines also possess submerged stumps, standing timber, large laydowns, and a few floating boat docks. We found one area in a creek arm that had visible beds of spawning bluegill, and we caught several bass and large bluegill around those beds. The other bass were caught around the submerged chunk rocks at the base of the retaining wall in less than five feet of water.  One of these 12 largemouth bass was caught in seven feet of water near the side of a large burgeoning patch of hydrilla located between two boat houses. We also probed the shaded sides and underneath a bunch of boat houses, and none of them yielded a strike. 

In closing, the black-bass fishing was above average by north-central Texas standards. In our eyes, it appears that the black bass are beginning to migrate from the feeder-creek arms where they spawned to their summertime main-lake lairs. 

May 30

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, and Terry Claudell of Overland Park, Kansas, posted a log on May 30 about their outing at an 83-year-old community reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 52 degrees. The afternoon’s high temperature was 77 degrees. The wind angled out of the west, north, and northwest at 5 to 9 mph. The sky was fair. The barometric pressure was 30.05 at 12:53 a.m., 30.05 at 5:53 a.m., 30.08 at 11:53 a.m., and 30.05 at 2:53 p.m.

The water level looked to be about a foot above normal. The surface temperature ranged from 70 to 73 degrees. The water exhibited from three to 4 ½ feet of visibility.  To our delight, this reservoir’s submerged aquatic vegetation is exhibiting a renaissance. Many of its shallow-water shorelines and flats are graced with patches of coontail and bushy pondweeds, and there are occasional sprouts of curly-leaf pondweeds. The water’s edges along many stretches of its shorelines are enhanced with thick patches of American water willows, an occasional patch of American pondweeds, and some burgeoning patches of lily pads.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would occur from 2:01 a.m. to 4:01 a.m., 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., and 8:15 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. 

I hopped in Terry's bass boat at 10:16 a.m., and we made our first casts at 10:18 a.m., and we immediately caught one largemouth bass a few yards from the boat ramp, and three casts later, we caught another largemouth bass. Then for the next 41 minutes, we failed to tangle with another bass. By the time, we executed our last ones at 2:21 p.m., our fishing counter documented that we struggled to catch 35 largemouth bass, one smallmouth bass, and one warmouth throughout these four hours and three minutes.

One largemouth bass was caught on a shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s PB&J Finesse WormZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead; this rig is 3 1/2 inches long. One largemouth bass was caught on a Z-Man’s pearl TRD TicklerZ affixed to a blue 1/32-ounce mushroom-style jig. Two largemouth bass were caught on a shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s watermelon-red Finesses WormZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead.  Three largemouth bass were caught on a Z-Man’s PB&J Finesse TRD rigged on a 1/16-ounce green-pumpkin mushroom-style jig. Six largemouth bass were caught on a Z-Man’s The Deal Finesse TRD rigged on a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. One smallmouth bass and nine largemouth bass were caught on a Z-Man’s The Deal TRD BugZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead.  Fifteen largemouth bass were caught on a Z-Man’s The Deal Finesse TRD affixed to a 1/16-ounce green-pumpkin mushroom-style jig.

The Deal Finesse TRD with a green-pumpkin 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig is at the top of this photograph. The Deal Finesse TRD with a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead is the second tig. The third one shows the abdomen of The Deal TRD BugZ. The fourth one features the dorsal of The Deal TRD BugZ  affixed to a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead.

Along a flat shoreline inside a small feeder-creek arm, we caught two largemouth bass. This feeder creek is located in the middle section of the reservoir. The shorelines inside this feeder-creek arm are cluttered with 12 large docks, one concrete retaining wall, two concrete boat ramps, several patches of American water willows, and a half-dozen overhanging trees. These shorelines possess a 25- to 45-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel and rocks, and portions of this terrain are quilted with patches of coontail and bushy pondweeds, which are endowed with a few stems of curly-leaf pondweeds and many wads of filamentous algae. These largemouth bass were caught about 20 feet from the water’s edge. One largemouth bass was caught on the initial drop of the PB&J Finesse WormZ rig in about six feet of water around some patches of coontail and bushy pondweeds. The second largemouth bass was caught on the pearl TRD TicklerZ rig with a slow swim-and-pause presentation around a patch of coontail in about six feet of water.  We failed to elicit another strike inside this feeder-creek arm and around its two main-lake points. We also failed to garner a strike along portions of the main-lake shorelines adjacent to these two main-lake points. 

We fished about half of the dam’s shoreline, which is 1,700 feet long and often sprayed with herbicides.  Its underwater terrain consists of scores of deteriorating limestone boulders that are occasionally enhanced with a few stems of American water willows and some meager patches of coontail and bushy pondweeds. It has a 50- to 60-degree slope.  The initial drop of the Z-Man’s The Deal TRD BugZ inveigled a smallmouth bass in about three feet of water, and it caught a largemouth bass with a swim-and-glide presentation in four to five feet of water.

Along about a 150-yard stretch of a main-lake shoreline immediately adjacent to the dam, we caught two largemouth bass. This shoreline has a 45- to 80-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders; portions of this terrain are graced with patches of bushy pondweeds and coontail. The water’s edge is endowed with some laydowns, overhanging trees, and patches of American water willows. Our Z-Man’s The Deal TRD BugZ rig allured both of the largemouth bass with a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in six to seven feet of water.

Across a main-lake flat at the end of this main-lake shoreline and the mouth of a small feeder-creek arm, we caught one largemouth bass. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders; a few of the boulders are humongous, and paltry patches of bushy pondweeds and coontail surround a few of the boulders. Some of the boulders are similar to the gigantic rectangular boulders that cover the dam. A slow swim-and-pause presentation with the Z-Man’s PB&J Finesse TRD rig inveigled the largemouth bass next to one of the gigantic boulders in about four feet of water.

In the lower section of this reservoir, we failed to elicit a strike around a main-lake point and a concrete outlet tower, but we caught three largemouth bass along about 200-yard stretch of a main-lake shoreline adjacent to this point and the outlet tower. This shoreline possesses a 45-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. This terrain is graced with some significant patches of coontail, bushy pondweeds, and some stems of curly-leaf pondweeds. Around these patches of submerged vegetation, the Z-Man’s PB&J Finesse TRD rig with a vertical presentation immediately below the boat allured one largemouth bass in about seven feet of water. The Z-Man’s watermelon-red Finesse WormZ rig with a swim-and-glide presentation caught two largemouth bass around the inside edge of the patches of submerged vegetation in about six feet of water.

We failed to garner a strike around a main-lake point and along about 100 yards of its main-lake shoreline in the middle portions of this reservoir.

We spent the rest of this outing in the upper half of this reservoir.

Around a main-lake point, we caught two largemouth bass. This point possesses a 30- to 40-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders that are enhanced with some patches of coontail and bushy pondweeds. The water’s edge is coated with American water willows. The initial drop of the Z-Man’s PB&J Finesse TRD rig on the outside edge of a patch of American water willows caught one largemouth bass in about three feet of water. Another largemouth bass was caught in about three of water in the vicinity of the outside edge of the American water willows on the initial of the Z-Man’s The Deal TRD BugZ rig.

From this main-lake point, we dissected about 850 yards of a main-lake shoreline. This massive shoreline has a 25- to 50-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rock, boulders, and silt; portions of this terrain are quilted with patches of bushy pondweeds, coontail, and some stems of curly-leaf pondweeds. The water’s edge is endowed with patches of American water willows, numerous laydowns, piles of brush, and overhanging trees and terrestrial vegetation. It is also endowed with several tertiary points. We eked out nine largemouth bass, and we caught them along the flatter segments of this shoreline.

Three were caught on the Z-Man’s The Deal TRD BugZ rig and six were caught on the Z-Man’s The Deal Finesse TRD rig. Two were caught on the initial drop of the TRD BugZ rig under an overhanging tree in about three feet of water. A swim-and-glide presentation with the TRD BugZ around a patch of coontail and a pile of brush inveigled one largemouth bass in about four feet of water.

A slow swim-and-glide presentation with the Z-Man’s The Deal Finesse TRD on a green-pumpkin mushroom-style jighead caught five largemouth bass around and on top of patches of coontail and bushy pondweeds and piles of brush and some logs. The initial drop of this Finesse TRD caught one largemouth bass along the outside edge of a patch of American water willows. These six largemouth bass were caught in water as shallow as 18 inches to as deep as 40 inches.

Along about a 550-yard stretch of another main-lake shoreline in the upper half of the reservoir, we enjoyed our most lucrative fishing of the day by catching 15 largemouth bass.  We caught six largemouth bass on the Z-Man’s The Deal Finesse TRD affixed to a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead.  Nine were allured by the Z-Man’s The Deal Finesse TRD affixed to a 1/16-ounce green-pumpkin mushroom-style jig.  This shoreline has a 20- to 70-degree slope. It possesses three small main-lake points and several tertiary points. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, and a tad of silt. There are occasional piles of rocks and boulders. There are three main-lake points and several tertiary points. Many areas of the underwater terrain are endowed with patches of coontail, bushy pondweeds, and some stems of curly-leaf pondweeds. The water’s edge is adorned with a few patches of American water willows, untold numbers of overhanging trees, and scores of laydowns. Four of the 15 largemouth bass were caught on the initial drop of our rigs under overhanging trees in about three to four feet of water. Three largemouth bass were caught with a slow swim-and-glide presentation parallel to the outside edge of some of the overhanging trees in about four to five feet of water. Two were caught on a swim-and-glide presentation around laydowns. Six were caught with a swim-and-glide presentation around submerged patches of coontail and bushy pondweeds in three to five feet of water.

In short, we caught an average of nine black bass an hour. It was a helter-skelter affair, and we were puzzled throughout the entire four hours about what was transpiring. We frequently remarked that it seemed as if the fish were catching us rather than us catching them.