Ned Kehde: Guide to Midwest Finesse Fishing: May 2026

The Guide to Midwest Finesse Fishing; May 2026

May 2

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted this report on the Finesse News Network about his May 2 smallmouth bass outing with Norman Brown of Lewisville, Texas, at a federal reservoir in south-central Oklahoma. This was Norman’s first outing at this reservoir this year.

Norman and I had a hankering to chase some post-spawn smallmouth bass, so we journeyed to a scenic Civilian Conservation Corps’ hill-land reservoir in south-central Oklahoma.

Upon our arrival, we were surprised to see that the boat ramp parking lot was filled to the brim with cars and tow vehicles with boat trailers. This impoundment was also crowded with people and watercraft of all kinds. It was as jam-packed as the reservoirs we have been fishing in north-central Texas.

This reservoir has been quite bountiful this spring. On April 13, Bear Brundrett of Valley View, Texas, joined me for a smallmouth bass excursion at this reservoir, and we caught 97 smallmouth bass and four largemouth bass. Then on April 24, Frank Gosnell of Sanger, Texas, and I caught 74 smallmouth bass, one largemouth bass, and one spotted bass. During those outings, we were searching for pre-spawn and spawning smallmouth bass, and we concentrated on flats and secondary points inside several feeder-creek arms and smaller bays, and along a variety of rocky main-lake shorelines, points, and offshore humps.

On May 2, Norman and I fished from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar indicated excellent fishing on May 2. It also noted that the best fishing would occur from 5:16 a.m. to 7:16 a.m., 11:04 a.m. to 1:04 p.m., and 11:28 p.m. to 1:28 a.m.

As for the weather, the sky was partly cloudy, and it was sunny. The morning’s low temperature was 46 degrees, and the afternoon’s high was a pleasant 77 degrees. For the first time in many days, the wind was subdued; it was light and variable during this outing. The barometric pressure was 30.18 at 9:00 a.m. and dropped to 30.11 by 3:00 p.m.  

The water exhibited about five feet of visibility. The surface temperature ranged from 68 to 70 degrees. The water level appeared to be dropping, but was still about a foot high.

This outing wasn’t as bountiful as the previous April 13 and 24 outings, but the fishing was still stellar. This time, we concentrated on a couple of secondary points inside one feeder-creek arm, nine rocky main-lake shorelines, four main-lake points, and  one offshore main-lake hump in the middle and lower sections of the reservoir’s west tributary arm, where no one else was fishing, and we caught 49 smallmouth bass, one largemouth bass, one channel catfish, and one large bluegill in six hours.

The most productive areas were main-lake shorelines endowed with shallow rocky ledges that extend between 10 and 15 feet from the water’s edge, and then quickly descend into water that is 12 or more feet deep. These ledges are graced with boulders and rocks. Patches of cattails and American water willows adorned some of the water’s edges of the shorelines.

The secondary points inside the feeder-creek arm yielded five smallmouth bass. The four main-lake points surrendered six smallmouth bass. The offshore hump relinquished eight smallmouth bass, and the nine rocky main-lake shorelines yielded 30 smallmouth bass and one largemouth bass.  All of these fish were caught in three to 11 feet of water. Flatter terrains were much more productive than steeper ones.  

We caught these 50 black bass on a variety of Midwest finesse rigs and presentations. One smallmouth bass was enticed by a slow swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pumpkin GrubZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. Another smallmouth bass was enticed by a slow-swimming retrieve with a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse TRD affixed on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig. Two smallmouth bass were tempted by a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation with a slightly shortened four-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ fastened on a chartreuse 1/20-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. Four smallmouth bass were induced into striking a shortened 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s hot-craw Baby Goat attached to a chartreuse 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig with a moderate-paced swimming retrieve. Eight smallmouth bass were fooled by a slow swim-glide-and-shake retrieve with a Z-Man’s watermelon-red Salty Ned ShrimpZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/20-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. A Z-Man’s Canada-craw Hula StickZ attached to a chartreuse 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig and employed with a slow and steady swimming retrieve fooled 16 smallmouth bass. And a slow swim-and-constant-shake presentation with a 2 3/4-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD TubeZ on a 1/15-ounce chartreuse Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig allured 17 smallmouth bass and one largemouth bass.            

In short, we relished this enjoyable day of smallmouth bass fishing in spite of the heavy angler pressure and boat traffic at this reservoir. 

May 4

Patty and Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about their short conjugal outing on May 4 at a 94-year-old state reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

The morning’s low temperature was 59 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 81 degrees. The wind angled out of the southwest, west, and south at 5 to 14 mph. The sky was fair. The barometric pressure was 29.73 at 12:52 a.m., 29.64 at 5:52 a.m., 29.63 at 11:52 a.m., and 29.61 at 1:52 p.m.

The water level looked to be more than 1½ feet above normal. The surface temperature was 67 degrees. The water exhibited more than 10 feet of clarity.   Most of the shallow-water flats and shorelines are endowed with significant patches of curly-leaf pondweeds, and many broken stems of curly-leaf pondweeds are floating on the surface, creating massive wads of it that cover the surface along the shorelines.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 12:40 a.m. to 2:40 a.m., 1:05 p.m. to 3:05 p.m., and 6:52 a.m. to 8:52 a.m.

We made our first casts at 11:15 a.m. and our last at 12:51p.m.  During the one-hour-and-36-minute outing, we tangled with 32 largemouth bass, three crappie, and two bluegill.

Two of the 32 largemouth bass were caught on a significantly 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 jig. A significantly shortened Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ attached to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig lured 30 largemouth bass.

One was caught on an accidental deadstick presentation. Four were caught on the initial drop of our rigs. Four were caught on a straight swimming presentation a foot or two below the surface as we fished along the outside edge of several massive patches of curly-leaf pondweeds. A drag-and-pause presentation enticed 23 largemouth bass.

We caught the 32 largemouth bass in a variety of depths -- as shallow as about five feet and as deep as about12 to 13 feet. They were from about 10 feet to 25 feet from the water’s edge.

Around a main-lake point and its main-lake shoreline, we caught 13 largemouth bass. The main-lake point has a 55-degree slope. The main-lake shoreline has a 50- to 85-degree slope. The underwater terrains consist of gravel, rocks, and boulders. Some of the boulders along the main-lake shoreline are humongous. A submerged creek channel graces this terrain. This shoreline is about 300 yards long and eventually merges with the dam’s spillway. The underwater terrain is covered with patches of curly-leaf pondweeds and some piles of tree branches.  Some of the water’s edges are lined with burgeoning patches of American water willows and a few dilapidated laydowns. Floating stems of broken curly-leaf pondweeds cluttered some sections of the surface of the water’s edge. We caught three largemouth bass around the main-lake point in about seven to 10 feet of water on the green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ rig. Along the shoreline, we caught two largemouth bass on the PB&J Finesse WormZ rig and eight on the green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ rig in five to 13 feet of water.

Along portions of a massive secondary shoreline inside one of this reservoir’s primary feeder-creek arms, we caught 13 largemouth bass.  The slope of this shoreline is about 30 to 55 degrees. It is graced with two secondary points and two tertiary points. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, and one significant submerged rock-and-boulder fence. Most of the flat and shallow-water sections of the underwater terrain are enhanced with thick patches of curly-leaf pondweed.  The water’s edge is lined with many patches of burgeoning American water willows, thickly coated with floating stems of broken curly-leaf pondweeds, and several well-aged laydowns.  Our green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ rigs caught these 13 largemouth bass around the edges of the patches of curly-leaf pondweeds. Two were caught around one of the secondary points. The other 11 were caught along the shoreline.  They were caught on our green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ rigs in five to 11 feet of water.

We quickly fished two sections of another secondary shoreline inside this primary feeder-creek arm. This shoreline is about 400 yards long. It is similar to the one that yielded 13 largemouth bass, but it yielded only two largemouth bass, which we caught on our green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ rigs many feet from the water’s edge and in 10 to 13 feet of water.

Around another main lake point and along about a 100-yard stretch of its main-lake shoreline, we caught four largemouth bass. This point and its main-lake shoreline possess a 35- to 45-degree slope.  The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, as well as a submerged barn and house foundation.  Much of the shoreline’s flat and shallow-water sections are carpeted with patches of curly-leaf pondweeds.  The water’s edge possesses thick patches of burgeoning American water willows, several overhanging trees, some laydowns, a few piles of brush, and areas that are totally coated with floating stems of broken curly-leaf pondweeds. Our green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ rigs inveigled these largemouth bass around the edges of the patches of curly-leaf pondweeds in about seven to 10 feet of water.

This has been a very perplexing spring in northeastern Kansas.  Mother Nature’s windy and wet weather in northeastern Kansas during most of April’s 30 days kept many recreational anglers at bay. For instance, Ned fished only five times. One was a short conjugal one with Patty. One was a short solo outing. The other three were with a Midwest finesse colleague, and they fished for about 11 hours. In total, these five outings consisted of 14 hours of fishing. During these 14 hours, 257 largemouth bass were caught, which was an average of 18 per hour.  On this inaugural May outing, Patty and Ned fished for one hour and 36 minutes and caught an average of about 20 largemouth bass per hour. Many of us are hoping May’s weather will be devoid of Mother Nature’s windy and wet antics. 

May 6

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his May 6 outing with Nick Robertson of Overland Park, Kansas, at an 88-year-old community reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 46 degrees, and the afternoon's high temperature was 60 degrees. The wind was calm for two early-morning hours, and when it erupted, it angled from the north, east, west, and northwest at 3 to 13 mph, and a few gusts reached 20 to 22 mph. The sky was overcast, partly cloudy, and fair. The barometric pressure was 29.99 at 12:54 a.m., 30.02 at 5:54 a.m., 30.10 at 11:54 a.m., and 30.08 at 2:54 p.m. This was a post-cold front outing.

The water level was several inches above normal. The surface temperature was 65 degrees. The water has about five to nine feet of visibility. Most of the patches of American water willows that grace this reservoir’s shorelines are exhibiting a yellowish hue rather than a green one; we suspect that the 10-degree and 15-degree temperatures that Mother Nature walloped us with on March 16 and 17 have caused this strange color phenomenon.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 2:29 a.m. to 4:29 a.m., 2:55 p.m. to 4:55 p.m., and 8:42 a.m. to 10:42 a.m.

We made our first casts at 10:30 a.m., and on our last casts at 2:30 p.m., we caught largemouth bass number 101.  Throughout this outing, we elicited numerous strikes that we failed to hook, and we accidentally caught seven bluegill and six green sunfish.

Two of the 101 largemouth bass were caught on a radically shortened Z-Man’s sprayed-grass SMH WormZ affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig.  Two were caught on a Z-Man’s hot-snakes TRD BugZ affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig. Six largemouth bass were caught on a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD TicklerZ and a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig. A Z-Man’s hot-snakes TRD TicklerZ and a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig caught nine largemouth bass. And a shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ on a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig waylaid 82 largemouth bass.

This is our shortened Z-Man's green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ rig. It is intentionally warped so it is not straight, which allows it to twist and turn as it is retrieved.  

We caught these fish with a variety of presentations. One caught was on a deadstick presentation. Six were caught during the initial drop of our rigs.  The others were caught on a strolling presentation, a slow swimming presentation, a drag-pause-and-slight-shake retrieve, and an incessant dragging retrieve.  

As we employed these various presentations, the largemouth bass were caught from about five to about 40 feet from the water’s edge and in water as shallow as four feet and as deep as 20 feet. We also fished around 81 docks, and we caught 29 of the 101 largemouth bass either under or immediately adjacent to the docks. The other largemouth bass were caught between the docks around rocks and boulders or amongst the burgeoning patches of American water willows and submerged aquatic vegetation.

We caught 25 largemouth bass across the spillway, along the main-lake shoreline that is next to the spillway, and around this shoreline’s main-lake point. This area has a 20- to 45-degree slope, and it is about 350 yards long. It is in the lower quarter of this reservoir. The water’s edge possesses 11 docks, several retaining walls, three tertiary points, and some patches of American water willows.  The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, a rock-and-boulder ledge that parallels deep water, and a massive boulder hump adjacent to the main-lake point. Some of the shallow-water areas are enhanced with patches of submerged vegetation and wads of filamentous algae. Our green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ rigs inveigled these 25 largemouth bass. Ten of them were caught on and around the massive boulder hump.

We fished along another main-lake shoreline and around two of its main-lake points, which yielded 30 largemouth bass. This area is about 800 yards long, and it is in the lower half of the reservoir. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are occasionally embellished with patches of filamentous algae, patches of submerged aquatic vegetation, and piles of tree limbs. The shoreline possesses a 25- to 50-degree slope. The points have a 25- to 30-degree slope.  The water’s edges of the shoreline are lined with several concrete and stone retaining walls, a few overhanging trees, some patches of American water willows, and 24 docks. The water’s edges of one of the points is endowed with patches of American water willows; the second point is lined with a stone retaining wall, two docks, and some meager patches of American water willows. One of the points yielded one largemouth bass; the other point yielded eight largemouth bass; 21 largemouth bass were caught along the shoreline. Our green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ rigs enticed 27 largemouth bass in five to 20 feet of water. The hot-snakes TRD BugZ rig caught two largemouth bass, and the hot-snakes TRD TicklerZ rig caught one largemouth bass.

In the upper half of the reservoir, we fished around two small main-lake points and along short sections of the shorelines adjacent to these points. This area has a 30-to 50-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, some wads of filamentous algae, and a few small patches of submerged aquatic vegetation. There is an underwater ledge that plummets into deep water adjacent to one of the points. The water’s edge is lined with several concrete retaining walls, one stone retaining wall, a few piles of brush, two overhanging trees, and some patches of American water willows. The sections of the shoreline that we fished have five docks, and each point is endowed with one dock. This area yielded 12 largemouth bass; six were caught on the hot-snakes TRD TicklerZ rig, and the green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ rig caught six largemouth bass. Five of the 12 largemouth bass were caught along a 30-yard section of the underwater ledge in about 10 to 13 feet of water. The other seven were caught in water as shallow as five feet and as deep as eight feet.

Along about a 250-yard stretch of a shoreline in the upper half of the reservoir, we caught nine largemouth bass. The underwater terrain of this shoreline consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are adorned with some wads of filamentous algae, a few PVC fish attractors, and several patches of submerged aquatic vegetation. The shoreline possesses a 35- to 60-degree slope. The water’s edge consists of one concrete retaining wall, four docks, one small rock bridge, a few minor laydowns, several piles of brush, some patches of American water willows, and several overhanging trees. Seven of the nine largemouth bass were caught on the green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ rig, and the hot-snakes TRD TicklerZ rig caught two largemouth bass. They were caught in water as shallow as six feet to as deep as 12 feet and from 10 to 20 feet from the water’s edge.

In the lower half of this reservoir, we fished along two segments of a 1,200-yard main-lake shoreline, which yielded 13 largemouth bass.  These segments have a 20- to 45-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders.

The flatter sections are laden with some silt. Wads of filamentous algae and patches of submerged aquatic vegetation decorate portions of the underwater terrain, as well as several manmade piles of tree limbs and PVC fish attractors.  The water’s edge has 32 docks, some patches of American water willows, and several retaining walls. Two of the 13 largemouth bass were caught on the radically shortened Z-Man’s sprayed-grass SMH WormZ rig, and 11 were caught on the green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ rig. We caught them in five to 12 feet of water and eight to 40 feet from the water’s edge.

We spent the final 23 minutes fishing along about half of the dam’s shoreline and about 50 yards of the main-lake shoreline immediately adjacent to the dam. The adjacent shoreline has a 30- to 40-degree slope; its water edge is endowed with two docks and patches of American water willows. The dam is 1,550 feet long with a height of 58 feet with a 50- to 60-degree slope; its water’s edge is graced with a concrete water outlet tower, patches of terrestrial grasses, and patches of American water willows. The underwater terrain of the dam and main-lake shoreline consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are occasionally adorned with some patches of submerged aquatic vegetation and wads of filamentous algae. We caught two largemouth bass along the shoreline and 10 along the dam. The Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD TicklerZ rig inveigled six of the 12 largemouth bass, and the green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ rig allured the other six. They were caught in about four to about nine feet of water.

In conclusion, this was our first 101 black bass outings in 2026. And during this four-hour, post-cold-front outing, we caught a tad more than 25 largemouth bass per hour. Years ago, we used to call these four-hour outings “bass fishing 101.”  And to this day, we are always hoping that we will tangle with 101 largemouth bass on every four-hour outing. Of course, we rarely accomplish that feat. For instance, we did it only five times in 2025.

May 6

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted this log on the Finesse News Network about his May 6 outing with John Thomas of Denton at a state reservoir in north-central Texas. This reservoir is the same impoundment that Steve and Rick Allen of Ingram, Texas, fished on April 7, when they caught 28 largemouth bass and three spotted during a 5 1/2-hour jaunt.

May 6 was mostly overcast with a brief spell or two of sunshine. A chilly wind angled out of the north-by-northeast at 10 to 15 mph. The morning’s low temperature was 46 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 68 degrees. The barometric pressure measured 29.90 at 10:00 a.m. and 29.88 at 4:00 p.m.

According to In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar, fishing would be poor on May 6. The best fishing periods would occur between 2:39 a.m. and 4:39 a.m., 8:51 a.m. and 10:51 a.m., and 3:04 p.m. to 5:04 p.m.

We were afloat from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

When we arrived at the boat ramp, it briefly sprinkled. The ramp’s parking lot was empty, and we were delighted to have the entire reservoir to ourselves.  

The water exhibited 14 inches of visibility. The surface temperature ranged from 68 to 69 degrees. The water level was 2.08 feet low, which is a significant drop because many of the areas where we normally find bedding bluegill and black bass this time of year were out of the water. We did search for bedding bluegills and signs of bedding black bass in several of the creek arms, but that endeavor was to no avail.

We began this outing on the south end of the reservoir, where we dissected a main-lake point and about 35 yards of its adjoining shoreline on the south side of the tributary arm. This point and shoreline are rock- and gravel-laden. It has about  a 20-degree slope. One side of the point is embellished with a concrete boat ramp, several boat houses, and many thick patches of hydrilla. The other side is endowed with a shallow clay-and-gravel flat, and its water’s edge is lined with thick patches of American water willows.

One side of the main-lake point yielded three largemouth, and its adjoining shoreline was unproductive. These three largemouth bass were relating to the patches of hydrilla in three to five feet of water. The first largemouth bass was enticed by a three-inch Z-Man’s Space Guppy Slim SwimZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig and manipulated with a steady-swimming retrieve. The second largemouth bass was tempted by a slow-swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s chartreuse-sparkle GrubZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. The third largemouth bass was induced by a Z-Man’s coppertreuse TRD TicklerZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead and a slow swim-and-constant shake presentation.

From that main-lake point, we moved to the north side of the reservoir, where we fished inside one major feeder-creek arm, three minor creek arms, and along a 50-yard segment of a main-lake shoreline.  These creek arms have been fruitful locales during this spring, but this time, we were baffled as to why we were able to catch only one largemouth bass inside the first minor creek arm, one largemouth bass inside the second minor creek arm, one spotted bass in the third minor creek arm, and two largemouth bass inside the major feeder-creek arm.

These five black bass were abiding in three to five feet of water on clay-and-gravel flats in the lower end of the creek arms.  Two of the five were caught on a steady-swimming retrieve with a chartreuse 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead sporting a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ.  One was enticed by a swimming retrieve with the three-inch Space Guppy Slim SwimZ rig. The fourth one was induced by a swimming retrieve with a three-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig, and the fifth one was tempted by a slow swim-and-constant-shake presentation with a 1/15-ounce chartreuse Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig dressed with a Z-Man’s Hot Snakes TRD TicklerZ.

The main-lake shoreline was unproductive.    

After that, we fished the dam at the east end of the reservoir. The dam is an earthen structure covered with broken rock. It is 1,500 feet long, 96 feet high, and has a 60-degree slope. It yielded one largemouth bass that was caught in about seven feet of water and about 10 feet from the water’s edge with a slow swim-and-constant-shake retrieve with a Z-Man’s Bama-Bug TRD BugZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig.

We finished the outing probing two sections of the reservoir’s southeast feeder-creek arm. One of the two sections was the rocky main-lake entry point, and the other section was a 35-yard-long rock ledge on the east-side shoreline in the middle of the creek arm.

The main-lake entry point has about a 45-degree incline and is blanketed with riprap. There are several large patches of American pondweeds cluttering its shallow-water areas.  This point relinquished three largemouth bass and one spotted bass. One of the largemouth bass was a hefty specimen that weighed 6 1/2 pounds. These four black bass were abiding around several patches of the American pondweeds on one side of the point in three to five feet of water. The three largemouth bass were allured by a slow swim-and-constant-shake retrieve with a Z-Man’s molting-craw TRD TubeZ matched with a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. The spotted bass engulfed the Bama-Bug TRD BugZ rig as it was utilized with a slow swim-glide-and-shake retrieve.

The 35-yard-long rock ledge in the midsection of the creek arm also surrendered three largemouth bass and one spotted bass. The top of this ledge is covered with three to five feet of water and tiered with chunky rocks and a few boulders. It quickly drops into 20-plus feet of water. These four black bass were relating to the deep-water side of the ledge in seven to nine feet of water, and they were fooled by the molting-craw TRD TubeZ combo and a slow swim-and-constant-shake presentation.                      

In conclusion, the black bass fishing at this reservoir wasn’t as bountiful as we were hoping. We probed a variety of locations, such as a riprap-laden dam, rocky main-lake points and flats, secondary rocky points and flats inside three minor feeder-creek arms and two major feeder-creek arms, and a rocky secondary ledge inside one of the larger creek arms.  And we had a trying time inveigling 14 largemouth bass and three spotted bass during this six-hour jaunt.

May 7

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted this report on the Finesse News Network about his May 7 smallmouth bass outing at a north-central Texas federal reservoir with Brad DePrater of Sanger, Texas.  

I joined Brad DePrater of Sanger, Texas, at a federal reservoir in north-central Texas, which is known for its striper fishing rather than its black bass fishing. Neither of us has visited this reservoir since October 2025.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar indicated that the most lucrative fishing periods would occur from 3:31 a.m. to 5:31 a.m., 9:43 a.m. to 11:43 a.m., and 3:56 p.m. to 5:36 p.m. The calendar also forecasted poor fishing for May 7.

It was a gorgeous spring day. The sky was partly cloudy. The barometric pressure measured 30.13 at 8:00 a.m. and fell to 29.99 by 5:00 p.m. A light breeze quartered out of the north and northeast at 3 to 6 mph. The morning’s low temperature was 48 degrees. The afternoon’s high was 74 degrees.

The water exhibited two feet of clarity. The water level was at its normal pool level. The surface temperature ranged from 65 to 71 degrees.

The black bass fishing in north-central Texas has been pretty lackluster this spring, and so was this outing.  We dissected portions of three feeder-creek arms, about 40 percent of a riprap-laden dam, and a couple of main-lake points in the lower end of the reservoir, and it was a grind to catch 10 smallmouth bass, four spotted bass, and one largemouth bass. We also inadvertently caught one freshwater drum.

This outing turned into a junk-fishing excursion. We ended up employing 17 Midwest finesse rigs, which is a sure sign of a slow and trying outing. Of the 17 Midwest finesse rigs that we employed, we caught four smallmouth bass and one spotted bass while slowly strolling and employing a slow drag-and-deadstck retrieve with a Z-Man’s hot-craw Finesse TRD rigged on a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig.  Two smallmouth bass and one spotted bass were caught on a Z-Man’s coppertresue Finesse TRD affixed on a chartreuse 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig while we were slowly strolling and employing a slow drag-and-deadstck retrieve. The same slow stroll in combination with a drag-and-deadstick retrieve with a Z-Man’s coppertreuse TRD TicklerZ fastened on a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig enticed one smallmouth bass and one spotted bass. A slow swim-glide-and-shake retrieve with a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse TRD rigged on a chartreuse 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig induced one smallmouth bass and one spotted bass. A slow and steady swimming retrieve with a 3 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin GrubZ attached to a chartreuse 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig caught one smallmouth bass. A 2 3/4-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD TubeZ threaded on a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig with a slow swim-and-constant-shake presentation snookered one smallmouth bass. And a slow swim-glide-and-shake retrieve with a shortened four-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ matched with a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig allured one largemouth bass.

We caught two smallmouth bass and two spotted bass from a secondary shoreline in the backend of the first feeder-creek arm. Another four smallmouth bass and one spotted bass were caught from a secondary shoreline in the lower end of the second creek arm.  Two smallmouth bass and one spotted bass were caught from two secondary shorelines inside a third feeder-creek arm, and two smallmouth bass were caught from a secondary shoreline inside a small main-lake cove. These areas are located at the lower end of the reservoir. These shorelines have 30- to 45-degree slopes. Their submerged terrains consist primarily of sand, gravel, baseball-size rocks, and scores of boulders that range in size from as small as a beach ball to as large as a small pick-up truck. One largemouth bass was caught in the middle section of the dam from a small rocky point that extends from the face of the dam.  All of these fish were caught in three to nine feet of water while our boat was positioned in eight to 21 feet of water.

Five prominent rocky main-lake points were fruitless.

Generally speaking, the smallmouth bass that inhabit this reservoir are larger in size but fewer in number than the smallmouth bass we pursue at a federal reservoir in southern Oklahoma. And during a typical six-hour outing at this reservoir, we usually catch between 25 and 38 smallmouth bass. But during this disappointing eight-hour excursion, it was a grind to eke out 15 black bass, and only 10 of them were smallmouth bass.  

May 8

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a brief log on the Finesse News Network about his outing with Pok Chi Lau of Lawrence on May 8 at an 87-year-old and heavily fished community reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 57 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 66 degrees. The wind angled from the south, southeast, and southwest at 3 to 10 mph. As we fished, the conditions of the sky were mostly cloudy and overcast, and it rained lightly. The barometric pressure was 29.83 at 12:52 a.m., 29.80 at 5:52 a.m., 29.82 at 11:52 a.m., and 29.81 at 1:52 p.m.

This reservoir and its watershed have been walloped this spring with several significant thunderstorms, strong winds, and a nearby tornado.

The water level looked to be a few inches above normal. The surface temperature was 65 degrees. The water exhibited less than a foot of visibility inside one of its feeder-creek arms and about two feet of clarity in the vicinity of the dam.  Many wads of filamentous algae clutter the shallow-water shorelines. The patches of American water willows, which grace the water’s edges of many of this reservoir’s points and shorelines, are green and growing. Patches of submerged aquatic vegetation are sprouting on portions of the underwater terrains.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would occur from 4:19 a.m. to 6:19 a.m., 4:42 p.m. to 6:42 p.m., and 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

We made our first casts at 11:45 a.m. and the last ones at 1:40 p.m. During these 115 minutes, it was a struggle to catch 16 largemouth bass, and accidentally catch two channel catfish, one crappie, and one green sunfish.

Two of the 16 largemouth bass were caught on a Z-Man’s Junebug TRD BugZ attached to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. A shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse WormZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig caught 14 largemouth bass.

We spent the first 33 minutes of this outing fishing along portions of two secondary shorelines inside a small feeder-creek arm and around one of the main-lake points at the mouth of this feeder creek and along about a 40-yard stretch of this point’s main-lake shoreline. The three shorelines and the point have a 35- to 45-degree slope. Their underwater terrains consist of gravel, rocks, and a few boulders. These terrains are occasionally endowed with patches of submerged aquatic vegetation and wads of filamentous algae. The water’s edges of the secondary and main-lake shorelines are lined with burgeoning patches of American water willows, a few laydowns, one dock, several overhanging trees, two tertiary points, a boat house, and some small piles of tree branches.  This area yielded one dinky largemouth bass, which was caught on the Finesse WormZ rig with a slow drag-and-pause presentation in about five feet of water. This rig also garnered a few meager strikes, and it hooked one hefty fish, which unfettered itself after about a 10-second tussle.

We spent the rest of the outing thoroughly dissecting the entire shoreline of the dam, its spillway, and tiny portions of the main-lake shorelines immediately adjacent to the spillway and the dam.

The dam is 1,400 feet long, 45 feet high, and has about a 55-degree slope. The underwater terrain of the dam’s shoreline consists of limestone boulders, rather than riprap. Many of the boulders are about four feet long, 2½ feet wide, and 2½ feet high, and many of the underwater boulders have crumbled and become gravel and rocks.  Wads of filamentous algae and some meager patches of submerged aquatic vegetation coat portions of the underwater terrain. The water’s edge possesses many shallow-water patches of American water willows, a riprap jetty with a concrete outlet tower, a few piles of brush and tree limbs, and several partially submerged logs.

The dam yielded 15 largemouth bass. Two were caught on the Junebug BugZ rig, and the Junebug Finesse WormZ rig inveigled 13 largemouth bass. We elicited seven strikes that we failed to hook, and we hooked two fish that quickly unfettered themselves. Two of the 15 largemouth bass were lured by the initial drop of our rigs in about four feet of water. The others were caught as we employed either a drag-and-pause presentation or a drag-pause-and-shake presentation in water as shallow as five feet and as deep as 10 feet. Five of the 15 largemouth were caught as we were making perpendicular casts and retrieves to and from the water’s edge. Eight of the 15 were caught as we were making our casts and retrieves parallel to the water’s edge, and these parallel casts were about 12 to 15 feet from the water’s edge.  

In short, this reservoir used to be one of our most fruitful venues. But after its state and county managers began spraying aquatic herbicides in it during the 2010s and terrestrial herbicides around it, the largemouth bass fishing became more and more trying. The arrival of the largemouth bass virus into northeastern Kansas might have played a role in this demise. Nowadays, the fishing has become so trying that many of our Midwest finesse colleagues rarely fish it.

May 10

Nick Robertson of Overland Park, Kansas, posted a brief log on the Finesse News Network about his outing on May 10 at an 88-year-old community reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 56 degrees, and the afternoon's high temperature was 70 degrees. The wind was relatively calm with gusts up to 13 mph. The sky fluctuated from overcast to partly sunny. The barometric pressure was 30.18 when I started at 11:45 and 30.15 when I stopped at 3:45.

The water level was normal.  The water exhibited more than five feet of clarity. I was unable to take the surface temperature.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best bass fishing would occur from 5:52 a.m. to 7:52 a.m., 6:15 p.m. to 8:15 p.m., and 11:41 a.m. to 1:41 p.m.

From 11:45 p.m. to 3:45 p.m., I fished in my float tube, or belly boat. I spent these four hours in the lower half of this reservoir.

I started this endeavor fishing along a main-lake shoreline and its two main-lake points, focusing primarily on the front and sides of the docks.  I caught a few largemouth bass on a shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse WormZ attached to a 1/15-ounce chartreuse Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig.  At the last dock, as I approached the second main-lake point, I switched to a Z-Man’s hot-snakes TRD BugZ and a 1/15-ounce red Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig and caught two largemouth bass around this point.

I fished around several docks along the secondary shoreline immediately adjacent to the main-lake point, where I failed to catch a largemouth bass.

From there, I fished around scores of docks along the main-lake shoreline on the west side of this reservoir.  Initially, I caught several largemouth bass on a 4.75-inch Z-Man’s PB&J Finesse WormZ affixed to a 1/15-ounce red Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. After I lost the PB&J Finesse WormZ rig around an underwater cable beneath a dock, I began using a shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s watermelon-red Finesse WormZ affixed to a 1/15-ounce red Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig, and even though it was quite effective, I switched to a Z-Man’s bubble-gut TRD TicklerZ attached to a 1/15-ounce red Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig  attached to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man's Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig, which was the first time that I have used it. During the last hour I was afloat, I caught 14 largemouth bass and several hefty green sunfish on the bubble-gut TRD TicklerZ rig. I caught them by fishing this rig along all of the sides of the docks and along the water’s edges of the shorelines between docks. Two of these 14 largemouth bass were the largest ones I caught.

Most of the largemouth were caught on either the initial drop of my rigs or a swim-glide-and-shake presentation. Two fish were caught on a dead stick presentation.

I caught 32 largemouth bass. Four were caught from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., five were caught from 12:45 p.m. to 1:45 p.m., nine were caught from 1:45 p.m. to 2:45 p.m., and 14 were caught from 2:45 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.

In all aspects, the belly boat with waders is my favorite way to thoroughly dissect docks and points with the Midwest finesse rigs. Ultimately, aside from one black crappie and four or five green sunfish, I caught an average of eight largemouth bass per hour.

May 11

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted this log on the Finesse News Network about his May 11 outing with Brad DePrater of Sanger, Texas, at a federal reservoir in south-central Oklahoma.

After Brad and I had a wretched smallmouth bass outing at a federal reservoir in north-central Texas on May 8, we thought we would give it another try at a picturesque federal hill-land reservoir in south-central Oklahoma. This impoundment has been our most productive smallmouth bass venue this year.  

During this seven-hour excursion, we pursued post-spawn smallmouth bass. We opted to target two secondary points inside one feeder-creek arm, four secondary points inside one small bay, two offshore humps, five main-lake shorelines and their adjoining main-lake points, and a sandy main-lake flat cluttered with numerous submerged stumps. These areas are spread across the west tributary arm of this impoundment.

We fished from 8:45 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted poor fishing on May 11. It also indicated that the most opportunistic fishing would likely occur between 12:33 a.m. and 2:33 a.m., 6:44 a.m. and 8:44 a.m., and 7:06 p.m. to 9:06 p.m.

May 11 was sunny even though the sky was mostly cloudy. The morning’s low temperature was 56 degrees, and the afternoon’s high was 80 degrees. A light breeze meandered out of the northeast at 7 to 9 mph. The barometric pressure measured 30.21 at 8:00 a.m., and 30.13 at 3:00 p.m.  

The water exhibited between six and eight feet of visibility. The surface temperature ranged from 65 to 71 degrees. The water level appeared to be at its normal pool level.

This outing was much more bountiful than our May 8 one, and the smallmouth bass fishing was excellent. During this May 11 foray, we reveled in catching 85 smallmouth bass, two largemouth bass, and one channel catfish in seven hours.

The most productive areas were rocky main-lake shorelines endowed with shallow rock ledges that extend between 10 and 15 feet from the water’s edge, and then quickly descend into water that is 12 or more feet deep. These ledges are endowed with fist-sized rocks and boulders that range in size from a basketball to a beach ball. The water’s edges and many other shallow-water areas are embellished with thick patches of American water willows and thick stands of cattails.

Two flat secondary points adorned with chunky rocks and boulders inside the feeder-creek arm yielded three smallmouth bass. Four flat and rocky secondary points inside a small bay surrendered 17 smallmouth bass. One of the two offshore humps relinquished nine smallmouth bass, but the other hump was fruitless. (These humps are carpeted with chunky rocks and boulders.) A sandy main-lake flat graced with numerous submerged stumps yielded three smallmouth bass. And four prominent rocky main-lake shorelines with rocky ledges paralleling the shorelines and their adjacent rock- and boulder-laden main-lake points relinquished 53 smallmouth bass and two largemouth bass.  All of these fish were caught in three to 11 feet of water. Steeper terrains were more productive than flatter ones.

We wielded 10 Midwest finesse rigs, and eight of them were effective. One smallmouth bass was enticed by a Z-Man’s hot-craw Baby Goat affixed on a chartreuse 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. Two smallmouth bass were enticed by a Z-Man’s coppertreuse TRD TicklerZ attached to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man's Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. Two more smallmouth bass were enticed with a Z-Man’s hot-craw Finesse TRD affixed on a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. Three smallmouths were enticed by a Z-Man’s bubble gum Finesse TRD fastened on a chartreuse 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig. Eleven smallmouth bass were tempted by a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD HogZ threaded on a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. Thirteen smallmouth bass were induced by a Z-Man’s meat-dog Finesse TRD rigged on a chartreuse 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig. Twenty-four smallmouth bass were caught on a Z-Man’s coppertreuse Finesse TRD rigged on a chartreuse 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig. And 29 smallmouth bass and two largemouth bass were inveigled by a 2 3/4-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD TubeZ matched with a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig.

One smallmouth bass was caught on a slow-swimming retrieve.  Three smallmouth bass were caught on the initial drop of our rigs. Five smallmouths were caught on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation, and 76 smallmouth bass and two largemouth bass were enticed by a slow swim-and-constant-shake technique.

In short, we relished catching 12 black bass per hour, which is a tough task to accomplish in our neck of the woods.

May 11

Patty and Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about one of their short conjugal outings on May 11 at a 64-year-old state reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 39 degrees. The afternoon’s high temperature was 80 degrees. The wind was calm at times, and at other times it angled out of the west and southwest at 9 to 18 mph. The sky was fair.  The barometric pressure was 30.22 at 12:52 a.m., 30.23 at 5:52 a.m., 30.22 at 11:52 a.m., and 30.15 at 2:52 p.m.

The water level looked to be 12 inches above normal. The surface temperature was 65 degrees. The water exhibited two to  2 ½ feet of visibility.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would occur from 6:32 a.m. to 8:32 a.m. and 6:55 p.m. to 8:55 p.m.

When we made our first casts at 1:30 p.m. at the west end of the dam’s riprap shoreline, we were hoping to catch 25 largemouth bass in an hour and go home.

The dam lies along the north side of this reservoir. It is 2,280 feet long and 58 feet high with a 55- to 60-degree slope.  The entire shoreline was sheltered from the mild-mannered north wind. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are coated with occasional wads of filamentous algae, several small patches of unidentified submerged vegetation, and several manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees in deep water. The water’s edge possesses five tiny patches of American water willows and several small piles of tree limbs and logs.

But by the time we made our final cast at 2:37 p.m., we were bedazzled and disappointed by the fact that we had caught only 11 largemouth bass, two crappie, two green sunfish, two channel catfish, and two bluegill.  Ten of the 11 largemouth bass were caught along the dam, and number 11 was caught on the point of a nearby riprap jetty near a patch of submerged aquatic vegetation.

Two of the 11 largemouth bass were caught on a Z-Man’s Junebug TRD BugZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. Four of the largemouth bass were caught on a shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. Five were caught on a shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse WormZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. One was caught on a deadstick presentation. Two were caught on the initial drops of our rigs.  The others were caught as we employed either a drag-and-pause presentation or drag-pause-and-shake presentation. We caught three of the 11 largemouth bass in about three feet of water and about three to four feet from the water’s edge. The other eight were caught in about five to nine feet of water and many yards from the water’s edge.

This has been a very perplexing spring in northeastern Kansas.  Mother Nature’s windy, wet, and bizarre weather has some of our reservoirs rather fouled up, which might be adversely affecting our abilities to locate and catch significant numbers of largemouth bass. Of course, it might be that our 85- and 86-year-old minds and bodies don’t have the wherewithal to find and allure the largemouth bass they way minds and bodies used to be able to catch them.  But we have been told by numerous anglers that they are perplexed by what is going on with the black bass, crappie, green sunfish, and white bass spawn.

May 13

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted this log on the Finesse News Network about his outing with Norman Brown of Lewisville, Texas, at a federal reservoir in north-central Texas on May 13.    

From 9:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., Norman and I fished at a heavily-pressured federal hill-land reservoir that lies in a suburban area north of Dallas.  

May 13 was partly cloudy and sunny. The wind quartered out of the south-by-southeast at 5 to 8 mph. The morning low temperature was 60 degrees, and the afternoon high reached 92 degrees. The barometric pressure dropped from 30.09 at 9:00 a.m. to 30.03 by 1:00 p.m.

In-Fisherman’s solunar table noted that the best fishing would occur between 1:52 a.m. and 3:52 a.m., 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m., and 8:28 p.m. to 10:28 p.m. It also indicated poor fishing on May 13.

We spent these four hours focusing on four main-lake points, two main-lake shorelines, and portions of four feeder-creek arms in the lower section of this reservoir’s southwest tributary arm.

The black-bass fishing in north-central Texas is still in a perplexing lull, and this lull was reflected in this below-average excursion, which resulted in nine largemouth bass and three spotted bass. And to our chagrin, nine of these 12 bass were dinky ones. We didn’t find any pods of black-bass fry in any of these creek arms. A few bluegill were loitering around a few small shallow-water areas in the first two feeder-creek arms, but we didn’t see any spawning activity.  

The underwater terrains of these areas consist of red clay, small gravel, baseball-size rocks, and a few submerged boulders. There is no aquatic vegetation in this impoundment.

The water level was at normal pool. The water clarity was dingy with nearly 15 inches of clarity. The surface temperature ranged from 72 to 74 degrees.

The fishing was a slow grind, and we failed to elicit any strikes from the four rocky main-lake points and two main-lake shorelines that we targeted.  

One largemouth bass and one spotted bass were caught in three to five feet of water from two small clay-and-gravel flats in the lower section and west side of the first creek arm. The largemouth bass was enticed by a steady swimming retrieve with a slightly shortened Z-Man’s pearl Baby Goat rigged on a blue 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig, and this was the only strike this rig could muster during this outing. The spotted bass engulfed a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pumpkin-chartreuse ZinkerZ matched with a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig on the initial drop.    

The second feeder-creek arm relinquished eight largemouth bass and one spotted bass. Three of the nine were abiding in less than five feet of water around clusters of chunky rocks that reinforce the sides of two concrete boat ramps in the second feeder-creek arm. One of the boat ramps is located in the middle portion of the west shoreline, and the other ramp is situated at the back end of the creek arm. Four largemouth bass were extracted from three to five feet of water across a 30-yard segment of a clay-and-gravel shoreline adjacent to the west-side boat ramp. This shoreline has a 30-degree slope. Another largemouth bass was caught in five feet of water next to a minor channel-swing bank located in the middle section of the east shoreline. This area has a 45-degree gradient.  And one largemouth bass was caught in 10 feet of water from underneath a back corner of a large commercial party boat moored next to the concrete boat ramp at the back end of the creek arm.

Four of these nine black bass were tempted by a Z-Man’s Canada-craw Hula StickZ attached to a chartreuse 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig and a slow swimming retrieve. Two engulfed a 2 3/4-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD TubeZ fastened on a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man's Micro Finesse jig that was utilized with a slow swim-and-constant-shake retrieve. Two more were attracted to the 2 1/2-inch pumpkin-chartreuse ZinkerZ rig with a slow swim-glide-and-shake retrieve. One largemouth bass preferred a shortened four-inch Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse WormZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig that was presented in a slow swim-glide-and-shake manner.  

The fourth feeder-creek arm produced one spotted bass. It was abiding in about five feet of water and relating to the end of a rocky secondary point that possesses about a 30-degree incline. This point is situated on the west shoreline in the midsection of the creek arm. This spotted bass was coaxed into striking the four-inch Junebug Finesse WormZ combo with a slow swim-glide-and-shake retrieve.      

In conclusion, we caught one spotted bass and one largemouth bass in the first feeder-creek arm and eight largemouth bass and one spotted bass in the second creek arm. We failed to garner any strikes in the third feeder creek, and we caught one spotted bass in the fourth creek arm.

We can only surmise that the black bass are in a post-spawn funk, but we haven’t seen any signs of small bass fry anywhere in this reservoir to validate this assumption. 

May 15

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his May 15 outing with Pok Chi Lau of Lawrence at an 88-year-old community reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 63 degrees, and the afternoon's high temperature was 82 degrees. The wind angled from the south and southeast at 9 to 15 mph, and a few gusts reached 17 to 24 mph. The sky was fair. The barometric pressure was 29.79 at 12:53 a.m., 29.74 at 5:53 a.m., 29.77 at 11:53 a.m., and 29.74 at 3:53 p.m.

The water level was normal. The surface temperature ranged from 69 to 70 degrees. The water has about six to 10 feet of visibility. Most of the patches of American water willows that grace this reservoir’s shorelines are exhibiting a yellowish hue rather than a green one; it is a very worrisome phenomenon.  It is one of the most heavily fished community reservoirs in northeastern Kansas.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 9:24 a.m. to 11:24 a.m. and 9:53 p.m. to 11:53 p.m.

We made our first casts at 11:22 a.m. and our last at 3:18 p.m., which was shortly after we caught largemouth bass number 76.  Besides the largemouth bass, we caught nine green sunfish, three crappie, and one hefty channel catfish. We also elicited many strikes that we failed to hook.

All of the fish, except for one of the three crappie, were caught on a shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. We made a few casts and retrieves with a Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse TRD affixed to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead and a Z-Man’s The Deal Fuzzy TRD on a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead.

Five of the largemouth bass were caught during the initial drop of our rigs.  The others were caught with three retrieves:  a slow swimming one, a drag-pause-and-shake one, and an incessant dragging one.

As we employed these various presentations, the largemouth bass were caught from about three to 40 feet from the water’s edge and in water as shallow as three feet and as deep as 18 feet. We also fished around scores of docks, where we caught the largemouth bass either under or immediately adjacent to the docks. The other largemouth bass were caught between the docks, around rocks and boulders, along the burgeoning patches of American water willows, and around the submerged aquatic vegetation.

We spent 97 minutes meticulously dissecting many feet of the dam’s shoreline. It is 1,550 feet long with a height of 58 feet with a 50- to 60-degree slope. The water’s edge is graced with a concrete water outlet tower, patches of terrestrial grasses, and patches of American water willows. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are occasionally adorned with patches of submerged aquatic vegetation and wads of filamentous algae. This shoreline yielded 27 largemouth bass. Some were caught in water as shallow as three to four feet of water and adjacent to the patches of American water willows. Others were caught in water as deep as five to 11 feet, and they were caught on either the rocky terrain or the areas graced with submerged aquatic vegetation.

We caught nine largemouth bass across the spillway, along the two main-lake shorelines that are next to the spillway, and around this shoreline’s main-lake point. This area has a 20- to 45-degree slope, and it is about 400 yards long. It is in the lower quarter of this reservoir. The water’s edge possesses 12 docks, several retaining walls, three tertiary points, and some patches of American water willows.  The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, a rock-and-boulder ledge that parallels deep water, and a massive boulder hump adjacent to the main-lake point. Some of the shallow-water areas are enhanced with patches of submerged vegetation and wads of filamentous algae. One of the nine largemouth bass was caught around the main-lake point. Three were caught on the boulder hump. Two were caught on the spillway in the vicinity of flowing water. Three were caught along the shoreline.  

We fished along a main-lake shoreline, around two of its main-lake points, and across a slightly offshore hump. This area yielded 18 largemouth bass. This area is about 800 yards long, and it is in the lower half of the reservoir. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are occasionally embellished with patches of filamentous algae, patches of submerged aquatic vegetation, and manmade piles of tree limbs. The shoreline possesses a 25- to 50-degree slope. The points have a 25- to 30-degree slope.  The water’s edges of the shoreline are lined with several concrete and stone retaining walls, a few overhanging trees, some patches of American water willows, and 24 docks. The water’s edge of one of the points is endowed with patches of American water willows; the second point is lined with a stone retaining wall, two docks, and some meager patches of American water willows. One of the points yielded two largemouth bass around patches of submerged aquatic vegetation; the other point was fruitless. We caught four largemouth bass on the offshore hump in about six to eight feet of water. Along the shoreline, we caught 12 largemouth bass. Eight of the 12 largemouth bass were caught around docks. We caught them in five to 18 feet of water and from about five to 40 feet from the water’s edge. The other four were caught between the docks around patches of submerged aquatic vegetation.

In the upper half of the reservoir, we fished along about 100 yards of a main-lake shoreline. It has about a 35-degree slope. The water’s edge is lined with patches of American water willows, three docks, a large overhanging tree, and a partially submerged picnic table. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, wads of filamentous algae, and a few patches of submerged aquatic vegetation. The patches of submerged vegetation yielded two largemouth bass in about seven feet of water.

Around a main-lake point in the upper half of the reservoir, we caught one largemouth bass.  This point has about a 35- to 40-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, some wads of filamentous algae, and a few small patches of submerged aquatic vegetation. It is endowed with a significant underwater ledge that parallels deep water.  The water’s edge is lined with a retaining wall and a dock. The largemouth bass was caught along the underwater ledge in 10 to 13 feet of water and many yards from the water’s edge.

Along about a 250-yard stretch of a shoreline in the upper half of the reservoir, we caught five largemouth bass. The underwater terrain of this shoreline consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are adorned with wads of filamentous algae, a few PVC fish attractors, some manmade piles of tree limbs, and patches of submerged aquatic vegetation. The shoreline possesses a 35- to 60-degree slope. The water’s edge consists of one concrete retaining wall, four docks, one small rock bridge, a few minor laydowns, several piles of brush, some patches of American water willows, and several overhanging trees. One largemouth bass was caught next to a dock, and the others were caught around the patches of submerged aquatic vegetation.

In the lower half of this reservoir, we fished along two segments of a 1,200-yard main-lake shoreline, which yielded 14 largemouth bass.  These segments have a 20- to 45-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. The flatter sections are laden with some silt. Wads of filamentous algae, patches of submerged aquatic vegetation, and several manmade piles of tree limbs decorate portions of the underwater terrain. The water’s edge has 32 docks, some patches of American water willows, and several retaining walls. It is also graced with three humps that are slightly offshore.  One of the humps yielded five of the 14 largemouth bass, and they were caught around patches of submerged aquatic vegetation in about five to seven feet of water. Six of the 14 were caught around the docks. Three largemouth bass were caught in the vicinity of patches of submerged aquatic vegetation in about five to nine feet of water.

In conclusion, we caught an average of 19 largemouth bass per hour.

May 20

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted this log on the Finesse News Network about his outing with Norman Brown of Lewisville, Texas, at a federal reservoir in north-central Texas on May 20.

We fished a heavily-pressured federal hill-land reservoir that lies in a suburb north of Dallas. It is the same reservoir that Norman and I fished on May 13, when we barely managed to scrounge up nine largemouth bass and three spotted bass in four hours. And to our dismay, the black bass fishing was more wretched this time than it was on May 13; our best efforts garnered only seven largemouth bass and one spotted bass during these five hours. We also inadvertently caught four white bass, three channel catfish, and one freshwater drum while we were pursuing these black bass.    

Severe thunderstorms had rolled across north-central Texas during the evening hours of May 19, and the morning hours of May 20 were overcast, humid, and misty. It became sunny and partly cloudy by 12:53 p.m. The morning’s low temperature was 61 degrees, and the afternoon’s high reached 79 degrees. The wind quartered out of the north-by-northwest at 5 to 12 mph. The barometric pressure dropped from 30.12 at 9:00 a.m. to 30.06 by 2:00 p.m.

According to In-Fisherman’s Solunar table, fishing would be poor on May 20. It also indicated that the most productive fishing would occur between 2:34 a.m. and 4:34 a.m., 8:49 a.m. and 10:49 a.m., and 3:05 p.m. to 5:05 p.m.

We fished from 9:40 a.m. to 2:40 p.m.

Besides one creek arm, a main-lake island, and one main-lake shoreline located in this impoundment’s southwest tributary arm, which we had also fished on May 13, we opted to fish at some different areas that we haven’t fished in quite a while. These areas are located in the middle and lower sections of the reservoir’s east tributary arm. We were hoping to find some significant aggregations of black bass that have been eluding us at our traditionally productive spots in the southwest tributary arm. These areas include two feeder-creek arms, portions of an old concrete spillway and a section of its adjacent riprap-laden shoreline, a main-lake point, and about 20 percent of a dam’s shoreline that is also blanketed with riprap. Unfortunately, these areas weren’t very fruitful either.    

The underwater terrains of these areas consist of red clay, small gravel, chunky rocks, submerged boulders, stumps, and riprap. The water’s edges are graced with a few laydowns, bushes, and overhanging trees. There isn’t any aquatic vegetation in this impoundment.

The water level was normal. The water clarity was murky, exhibiting about 12 to 14 inches of clarity. The surface temperature ranged from 72 to 73 degrees.

We had to work hard to catch five largemouth bass and one spotted bass inside the three feeder-creek arms. Two largemouth bass were caught from a clay-and-gravel secondary point in the first creek arm, one largemouth bass and one spotted bass were caught from two clay-and-gravel secondary points in the second creek arm, and two largemouth bass were caught from the sides of two clay-and-gravel secondary points inside the third creek arm. These points possess 30- to 45-degree gradients. All of these black bass were abiding in five to 10 feet of water and within 15 feet of the water’s edges, and in the middle sections of the creek arms.

The other two largemouth bass were caught in three and 12 feet of water from around a clay-and-gravel tertiary point located on the southwest corner of a main-lake island. We caught them while they were briefly foraging on threadfin shad on the surface of the water.

Three of these eight black bass were allured by a Z-Man’s California-Craw Hula StickZ rigged on a red 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig; two were caught on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation, and one was caught as the rig was popped free from an underwater obstruction. One largemouth bass was enticed by a steady swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s Space Guppy Slim SwimZ rigged on a black 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig. Another largemouth bass was tempted by a slow swim-and-constant-shake retrieve with a Z-Man’s coppertreuse TRD TicklerZ fastened on a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. A Z-Man’s coppertreuse Finesse TRD attached to a chartreuse 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig with a swim-glide-and-shake presentation caught one largemouth bass. The seventh largemouth bass was fooled by a swim-glide-and-shake retrieve with a red 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig sporting a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse TRD. The spotted bass engulfed a shortened four-inch Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse WormZ matched with a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig and a slow swim-and-constant shake presentation. We failed to garner any strikes with five other Midwest finesse combos.    

The concrete spillway was fruitless. The section of its adjacent riprap-laden shoreline yielded two channel catfish. The main-lake point, which is situated about a quarter mile north of the spillway, was also unproductive. And the small segment of riprap that we dissected on the dam relinquished one channel catfish.

In short, it was a trying task for us to catch 1.6 black bass per hour. And moving to a different section of this reservoir didn't help.

May 20

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, and Rick Hebenstreit of Shawnee, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about their May 20 outing at an 88-year-old community reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 50 degrees, and the afternoon's high temperature was 64 degrees. The wind angled from the northeast and east at 8 to 14 mph, and some gusts reached 17 to 22 mph. The conditions of the sky were overcast, partly cloudy, mostly cloudy, fair, and cluttered with a few clouds. The barometric pressure was 30.25 at 12:53 a.m., 30.26 at 6:53 a.m., 30.24 at 11:53 a.m., and 30.19 at 2:53 p.m.

Weatherwise, this has been a bizarre spring. Northeastern Kansas has had 55 tornado warnings, many flash-flood alerts, a number of unusually warm days, and scores of significant cold fronts. Today was another post-cold-front outing, which was preceded by two to four inches of downpours at many nearby locales.

The water level was slightly above normal. The surface temperature was 71 degrees. The water had about three to six feet of visibility. Most of the patches of American water willows that grace this reservoir’s shorelines are exhibiting a yellowish hue rather than a green one, and a few of the yellow patches are disintegrating.  There is a growing number of coontail patches. Wads of filamentous algae clutter much of the underwater environment; some of it is black, and some of it is green.  This is one of the most heavily fished community reservoirs in northeastern Kansas, and it was heavily fished today. It has also been our most fruitful waterway in 2006.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 2:23 a.m. to 4:23 a.m., 2:56 p.m. to 4:56 p.m.; 8:41 a.m. to 10:41 a.m.

We made our first casts at 10:22 a.m. and our last at 2:22 p.m. We were hoping to catch and release 101 largemouth bass, but we failed to reach that goal. Instead, we tangled with 44 largemouth bass, and accidentally caught one crappie, four channel catfish, and eight green sunfish. Three of the catfish were hefty specimens, and about 15 minutes of this four-hour outing was consumed in battling these brutes with our finesse outfits.

Eight of the 44 largemouth bass were caught on a shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ affixed on a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. A shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse WormZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig inveigled 16 of the 44 largemouth bass. A Z-Man’s hot-snakes Finesse TRD affixed to either a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig or a red 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig caught 20 of the 44 largemouth bass.

A dragging presentation caught five largemouth bass. The initial drop of our rigs enticed 10, and either a slow swim-and-slight-pause presentation or a swim-glide-and-shake presentation caught 29 largemouth bass.

The largemouth bass were caught from about four to 40 feet from the water’s edge and in water as shallow as three feet and as deep as 15 feet. We fished around numerous docks, and we caught several of the 44 largemouth bass along the outside edges of the docks. The other largemouth bass were caught between the docks, around rocks and boulders, along the outside edges of a few of the patches of American water willows, and around the submerged patches of coontail.

We caught eight largemouth bass along the shoreline of the dam. It is 1,550 feet long; it has a height of 58 feet and a 50- to 60-degree slope. The water’s edge is graced with a concrete water outlet tower, patches of terrestrial grasses, and patches of American water willows. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders; portions of this terrain are adorned with patches of coontail and wads of filamentous algae. Three of the eight largemouth bass were caught on the green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ rig, and five were caught on the hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig. Two of the eight were caught on the initial drop in three to four feet of water. The others were caught on either the slow swim-and-slight-pause presentation or a swim-glide-and-shake presentation.

We caught one largemouth bass near the end of the concrete boat ramp on a dragging presentation in about six to seven feet of water with the hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig.  The initial drop of the green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ rig caught a largemouth bass along the shoreline adjacent to the boat ramp in about five feet of water.

We caught five largemouth bass at the spillway. Its underwater terrain consists of concrete, gravel, and rocks, which are becoming adorned with patches of coontail and wads of filamentous algae, and it is enhanced with current as the water flows out of the reservoir. Patches of American water willows adorn the water’s edges.  Two of the five largemouth bass were caught on the hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig, and the green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ rig lured three largemouth bass. One was caught on the initial drop in about three to four feet of water. A swim-glide-and-shake presentation caught the other four in about four to five feet of water.

We fished along the main-lake shoreline that is adjacent to the spillway. The water’s edge possesses 12 docks, several retaining walls, three tertiary points, and some patches of American water willows. It has a 30- to 50-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, a rock-and-boulder ledge that parallels deep water, and a massive boulder hump adjacent to this shoreline’s main-lake point. Some of the shallow-water areas are cluttered with wads of filamentous algae and are graced with significant patches of coontail. Along the outside edge of one of the docks, we caught one largemouth bass on the initial drop of the green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ in about seven feet of water. The hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig with a swim-glide-and-shake presentation enticed a largemouth bass out of a patch of coontail. We were surprised that we failed to elicit a strike around and on the massive boulder hump. Along the outside edge of a large patch of coontail that enhances the main-lake point, the hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig inveigled two largemouth bass with a slow swimming presentation in about seven feet of water.

We fished along about a 200-yard section of a main-lake shoreline, which is about 800 yards long, and around one of its two main-lake points. This area is in the lower half of this reservoir. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are embellished with patches of coontail and wads of filamentous algae, patches of submerged aquatic vegetation, and manmade piles of tree limbs. The shoreline possesses a 25- to 50-degree slope. The point has a 25-degree slope.  The water’s edges of the shoreline are lined with several concrete and stone retaining walls, some patches of American water willows, and nine docks. The point was fruitless. The Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse WormZ rig with a slow swim-glide-and-subtle-shake presentation enticed two largemouth bass out of patches of coontail in about six to seven feet of water.

Around a main-lake point in the upper half of the reservoir, we caught four largemouth bass.  This point has about a 40-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, some wads of filamentous algae, and a few patches of coontail. It is endowed with a significant underwater ledge that parallels deep water.  The water’s edge is lined with a retaining wall and a dock. Our hot-snakes Finesse TRD rigs caught the four largemouth near and along the underwater ledge in eight to 12 feet of water and many yards from the water’s edge.

Along about a 400-yard stretch of a shoreline in the upper half of the reservoir, we caught nine largemouth bass. The underwater terrain of this shoreline consists of silt, gravel, rocks, and boulders. It is adorned with many patches of filamentous algae, several piles of brush, a few PVC fish attractors, and patches of coontail. This shoreline possesses a 25- to 55-degree slope. Its water’s edges have several concrete retaining walls, about 100 feet of riprap, 10 docks, one small rock bridge, a few minor laydowns, one tiny concrete and rock jetty, several overhanging trees, and some shallow-water patches of American water willows. Five of the nine largemouth bass were caught on the Junebug Finesse WormZ rig. The hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig caught four. One of the nine largemouth bass was caught on the initial drop of the hot-snakes Finesse TRD at the outside corner of one of the docks; this rig and a swim-glide-and-shake presentation enticed three largemouth bass. The Junebug Finesse WormZ rig with a slow swim-glide-and-shake retrieve tangled with five of the nine largemouth bass.

We eked out three largemouth bass along another shoreline in the upper half of the reservoir. We quickly fished along about a 200-yard stretch of this shoreline, which is about 900 yards long. The underwater terrain of the section we fished contains silt, gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are coated with patches of coontail and wads of filamentous algae. The water’s edge is cluttered with 16 docks, some rock and concrete retaining walls, patches of American water willows, a few laydowns, some piles of tree limbs, and some overhanging trees. A slow swimming retrieve with the hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig lured a largemouth bass in about five feet of water around a patch of coontail. The initial drop in about six feet of water along the outside edge of two docks caught two of the three largemouth bass.

We caught seven largemouth bass in the lower half of this reservoir, as we quickly fished along two segments of a 1,200-yard main-lake shoreline.  These segments have a 20- to 45-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. The flatter sections are laden with some silt. Wads of filamentous algae, patches of coontail, and several manmade piles of tree limbs decorate portions of the underwater terrain. The water’s edge has 32 docks, patches of American water willows, and several retaining walls. It is also graced with three humps that are slightly offshore. We fished around 15 of the 32 docks and across two of the humps. One of the humps yielded four of the nine largemouth bass, and they were caught around patches of coontail in about five to seven feet of water on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation with our Junebug Finesse WormZ rigs. Two of the seven were caught on the initial drop of the Junebug Finesse WormZ rig in front of two docks in six to seven feet of water. A slow swimming presentation with the Junebug Finesse WormZ rig caught one of the seven between two docks.

In conclusion, we caught an average of 11 largemouth bass per hour.

May 22

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his May 22 smallmouth bass outing with Roger Farish of Highland Village, Texas, at a federal reservoir in south-central Oklahoma. This was Roger’s first outing at this reservoir this year.

Roger and I thought we would begin celebrating the Memorial Day weekend a bit early by enjoying some smallmouth bass fishing at a picturesque federal hill-land reservoir in south-central Oklahoma.

We were hoping to sneak in a six-hour outing at this impoundment before the weekend holiday revelers arrived, but by 10:00 a.m., this reservoir was teeming with people and all kinds of watercraft. It became as crowded as the outing Norman Brown of Lewisville, Texas, and I experienced on May 2.

Roger and I were afloat from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar forecasted poor fishing on May 22. It also indicated that the most productive fishing would occur from 4:40 a.m. to 6:40 a.m., 10:52 a.m. to 12:52 p.m., and 5:05 p.m. to 7:05 p.m.

The sky conditions changed from overcast to partly cloudy. The morning’s low temperature was 63 degrees, and the afternoon’s high peaked at 86 degrees. The wind was light and variable, and at times it was calm. The barometric pressure was 29.96 at 9:00 a.m. and fell to 29.83 by 3:00 p.m.  

The water was as clear as we have ever seen it, exhibiting eight to 10 feet of clarity. The surface temperature ranged from 72 to 75 degrees. The water level appeared to be at its normal pool level.  

This outing was a tad more bountiful than the earlier May 2 outing, when Norman and I caught 49 smallmouth bass and one largemouth bass. During this May 22 excursion, Roger and I focused on two secondary points, a 200-yard section of a secondary shoreline inside one creek arm, one offshore main-lake hump, three rock ledges that parallel three main-lake shorelines, and a portion of a main-lake island. These areas are located in the middle section of the reservoir’s west tributary arm and within a mile radius of the boat ramp where we launched.  Ultimately, we caught 54 smallmouth bass and three largemouth bass. We were surprised that we didn’t encounter any other species of fish during this jaunt.

The most productive areas were the main-lake rock ledges that extend 10 to 15 feet from the water’s edge, and then radically descend into water that is 12 or more feet deep. These ledges are also adorned with numerous boulders, chunky rocks, and patches of cattails and American water willows.

The secondary points inside the feeder-creek arm are relatively flat, and they yielded three smallmouth bass. The 200-yard section of the secondary shoreline adjacent to one of the secondary points yielded 10 smallmouth bass and one largemouth bass. This shoreline is endowed with a rock ledge that is carpeted with thick patches of American water willows growing on top of the ledge. The ledge is also covered with three to five feet of water that descends into 20-plus feet of water. The sides of the offshore hump relinquished eight smallmouth bass. The three main-lake rock ledges, which are about 50 yards to 150 yards long, yielded 25 smallmouth bass and two largemouth bass.  And a boulder-laden section of a main-lake island’s perimeter surrendered eight smallmouth bass. All of these bass were caught in three to 12 feet of water.

We caught them on five Midwest finesse rigs and three presentations. One smallmouth bass was enticed by a slow swim-and-constant-shake retrieve with a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse ShadZ affixed on a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse jig. Two smallmouth bass were caught on a steady-swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig. Two smallmouth bass and one largemouth bass were induced by a slow-swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pumpkin GrubZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. Fifteen smallmouth bass were attracted to a slow swim-and-constant-shake presentation with a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD TicklerZ attached to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. And 34 smallmouth bass and two largemouth bass were coaxed into striking a 2 3/4-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD TubeZ matched with a 1/15-ounce chartreuse Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig, and it was utilized with a slow swim-and-constant-shake presentation.          

In closing, it was another captivating day of smallmouth bass fishing. Unfortunately, it won’t be long before the water temperature at this reservoir will reach 80 degrees, then the smallmouth bass will disappear to their deep-water haunts for the summer, and our springtime smallmouth bass fishing extravaganza will come to an end.

May 25

Talban Kantala of Tomball, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his May 25 outing with Tyler Shimada of Houston, Texas, at a massive saltwater bay on the Texas Gulf Coast.

The morning was mostly cloudy with short intervals of light rain and sunshine. There were thunderstorms erupting in the distance, but they didn’t pass over the area we were fishing. The Weather Channel reported a morning low temperature of 75 degrees and an afternoon high of 81 degrees. The barometric pressure was 29.90 at 6:00 a.m. and 29.91 at noon. A low tide of 0.75 feet occurred at 7:58 a.m., and a high tide of 1.10 feet was expected at 1:49 p.m.  A nearby NOAA station reported the water temperature averaged 81 degrees throughout the morning. No salinity data was reported at the nearest NOAA station. Wind speeds ranged from 5 to 10 mph out of the east to northeast.

According to In-Fisherman's Solunar calendar, the best fishing periods would occur between 1:12 a.m. and 3:12 a.m., 7:23 a.m. and 9:23 a.m., and 7:43 p.m. to 9:43 p.m.

We fished from 6:15 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. During these 5 1/2 hours, I caught and released four Atlantic croaker, three gafftopsail catfish, two pinfish, two stingrays, one redfish, and one hardhead catfish. Tyler caught and released approximately six gafftopsail catfish and three Atlantic croaker.

We explored a new wade-in spot, and to our surprise, we were the only waders fishing on this secluded section of the bay. This area had recently received a substantial downpour about an hour before we arrived, along with several days of rain prior to today. While we were wading, we covered a distance of 0.81 miles across a large sand flat with a mix of mud and oyster shell bottom closer to the shoreline. The water’s edge is bordered by Spartina grass. This shallow sandy flat extends about 150 yards from the water’s edge before running up against a deep main channel. There are also two prominent flat points, one tidal drain stretching approximately 195 yards toward the back basin, and one small pier structure running approximately 465 yards out toward the main channel. We fished in depths ranging mostly from two to five feet of water, with unknown deeper depths closer to the main channel. While wading out, we noticed several schools of unidentified baitfish and large mullet, ranging from 6 to 10 inches, jumping out of the water. Some pelicans and seagulls were constantly diving around us as they foraged on the schools of baitfish throughout the morning. The water exhibited a light-green hue with about 18 inches of clarity.

We started off wielding a hard-bodied cigar-shaped topwater lure, which was employed with a slow walk-the-dog presentation along the outer edges of the Spartina grass line and across the open water sandy flat where the surface of the water was relatively calm. After about 30 minutes of executing scores of unproductive casts and retrieves, we decided to change lures. Tyler chose a hard-bodied suspending jerkbait, while I used a customized white 1/6-ounce Z-Man Finesse ShroomZ Jig with rabbit fur tied to it. A 2.5-inch Z-Man’s Salty Ned ShrimpZ in the rootbeer-gold hue was attached as a trailer. This customized jig head was a Christmas gift that my brother Kenrick Kantala had hand-tied himself.

I was able to quickly entice a small hardhead catfish on the second cast while slowly bouncing the jig along the bottom. While working our way out across the sandy flat, I hooked into what I initially thought was a large bull redfish. After several minutes of fighting the fish, I noticed it would suddenly stop, then take off again. I was not making any gains on this fish with my light tackle, so Tyler and I decided to move toward the fish instead. Ultimately, we were able to walk up to the fish and discovered that I had hooked a stingray. I was able to pop the lure free from its mouth while it remained motionless in place.

After that, I decided to move closer to the shoreline and focus on a section of Spartina grass that formed an island surrounded by water. This grass island was situated next to a shoreline point. As I was slowly hopping the lure across the bottom, it was engulfed by a beautiful 16-inch redfish. Unfortunately, the rabbit-fur jig began to fall apart after several more casts, so I switched to a 2.5-inch Z-Man’s rootbeer-gold Salty Ned ShrimpZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/6-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ Jighead. I employed this combo as we covered the sandy flat area and worked our way as far as we could toward the main channel.

When we reached the edge of the main channel, we noticed several predatory fish and birds foraging on baitfish along the surface in the main channel. During this feeding spree, I caught three gafftopsail catfish, four Atlantic croaker, one pinfish, and one stingray. I estimated that one of the gafftopsail catfish was in the three- to four-pound range. Tyler also caught several catfish in the same weight range on the suspending jerkbait.

After thoroughly working the main channel, we made our way back toward the shoreline and fished the outer mouth of the tidal drain. Tyler changed his lure to a spoon and caught several Atlantic croaker and gafftopsail catfish. I dressed the same chartreuse 1/6-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ with a 2.5-inch Z-Man’s The Deal Slim SwimZ. I tried various swimming retrieves ranging from fast to slow, but I was unable to hook any fish. I did garner a few subtle strikes from some smaller fish, which were likely pinfish. I also fished parts of the open sandy flat directly beneath some diving birds that were feeding on baitfish, but I failed to elicit any strikes.

Next, I employed a two-inch Z-Man’s greasy-prawn CrusteaZ affixed on a chartreuse 1/6-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ Jighead. This rig can be best described as a cross between a crab and a crawfish. I utilized this combo with a slow-bouncing presentation along the bottom, and it enticed one pinfish.

For the final hour, the bite slowed down substantially. I wielded a 2.5-inch Z-Man’s new-penny Salty Ned ShrimpZ on a chartreuse 1/6-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig around some concrete pylons of a pier structure, and I failed to elicit any strikes.

In closing, our catch rates weren’t great today, but it was a learning experience. This area has good potential. I suspect sea trout would have been present had it not been for the recent rains, which likely added significant freshwater runoff to the system and pushed them out to deeper water. 

May 26

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted this report on the Finesse News Network about his May 26 outing with Norman Brown of Lewisville, Texas, at a state reservoir located in an exurban area of north-central Texas. The last time we fished at this reservoir was on April 20, when we inveigled 15 largemouth bass and five spotted bass in six hours.  

The best fishing on May 26, according to In-Fisherman’s Solunar Calendar, would most likely occur from 1:23 a.m. to 3:23 a.m., 7:33 a.m. to 9:33 a.m., and 7:54 p.m. to 9:54 p.m. The calendar also forecasted poor fishing.

We fished from 7:20 a.m. to 12:20 p.m.

The weather in north-central Texas has been a bit unstable during the past few weeks, with blustery winds and some severe thunderstorms now and then. We were expecting a few showers around this area during the early afternoon, and we saw a couple of them erupting as we were driving home. The sky was partly cloudy for most of the morning, then it became overcast. The morning low temperature was 64 degrees, and the afternoon high temperature was 91 degrees. A slight breeze quartered out of the south-by-southeast at less than 5 mph. The barometric pressure dropped from 29.92 at 7:00 a.m. to 29.89 at noon.

We spent these five hours dissecting rocky main-lake and secondary shorelines, main-lake and secondary points, a concrete-debris-covered jetty, and some covered docks in the lower and middle sections of the reservoir.

The water’s surface temperature ranged from 73 to 76 degrees. The water level was 4.15 feet below normal pool. The water exhibited about 18 inches of clarity.

We started in the backend of the first bay in the lower end of the reservoir, where we slowly fished three rocky shorelines and a boulder-laden secondary point near the mouth of the bay. The three secondary shorelines vary in length from about 30 to 100 yards. They have inclines of about 35 to 40 degrees. The secondary point has about a 25-degree gradient. The point and sections of these shorelines are adorned with patches of flooded stickups intermixed with boulders. The three secondary shorelines yielded five largemouth bass, and the secondary point surrendered three spotted bass and two largemouth bass. These 10 black bass were scattered across the shorelines and point, and they were associated with the larger boulders that have stickups around them in three to five feet of water.

We then fished around a series of five main-lake points. Their submerged terrains consist of red clay, small gravel, chunky rocks, and boulders. Some of their shallow-water areas are embellished with patches of stick-ups.  These main-lake points surrendered eight spotted bass, seven smallmouth bass, and two largemouth bass. Fourteen of these 17 black bass were abiding in three to seven feet of water next to the large boulders and intertwined with patches of stickups on the sides of the points. The other three were caught off the ends of three of the points over 20-plus feet of water as they were chasing small pods of threadfin shad on the surface.    

At the entrance to a second bay in the midsection of the reservoir’s east shoreline, we fished around a jetty that is covered with large chunks of concrete debris and twisted and rusty steel rebar. This jetty surrendered two largemouth bass and one spotted bass. They were caught in three to five feet of water and within five feet of the water’s edge. Next to the jetty, we caught one largemouth bass and two spotted bass in 13 feet of water from underneath a covered boat dock.  

About a mile north of the second bay, we probed a main-lake bluff shoreline. This bluff is about 100 yards long. The base of the bluff is cluttered with countless large boulders in three to 10 feet of water. Around these boulders, we caught nine largemouth bass and two spotted bass.    

In summary, we caught a total of 44 black bass. Twenty-one of them were largemouth bass, 16 were spotted bass, and seven were smallmouth bass. We also caught three white bass and one channel catfish by accident.

We wielded eight Midwest finesse offerings, and all of them were productive. Thirteen of the 44 black bass were caught on a Z-Man’s Hot Snakes TRD TicklerZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig with a slow swim-and-constant-shake retrieve. Twelve were allured by a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pumpkin GrubZ affixed on a chartreuse 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig with a slow and steady swimming retrieve. Seven more were induced by a slow swim-and-constant-shake presentation with a 2 3/4-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD TubeZ matched with a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. Four were caught on a slow swimming presentation with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin ZinkerZ on a red 1/16-ounce mushroom-type jig. Another three were tempted by a slow swimming retrieve with a Z-Man’s coppertreuse Finesse TRD fastened on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig. A red 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig dressed with a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse TRD with a slow and steady swimming retrieve enticed three bass. One largemouth bass was fooled by a steady swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pumpkin-chartreuse ZinkerZ threaded on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig.   A Z-Man’s California-craw Hula StickZ on a red 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig inveigled one largemouth bass with a slow swimming retrieve.  

May 27

Ned and Patty Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about their geriatric and conjugal outing and lunch on May 27 at an 87-year-old community reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 63 degrees. The afternoon's high temperature was 85 degrees. The conditions of the sky fluctuated from being fair to cluttered with a few clouds to partly cloudy to mostly cloudy.  The wind was calm at times, and at other times it angled out of the southeast, northeast, and east at 3 to 14 mph. The barometric pressure was 29.92 at 12:53 a.m., 29.97 at 5:53 a.m., 30.01 at 11:53 a.m., and 29.97 at 2:53 p.m.  

The water level looked to be normal. The surface temperature was 78 degrees. The water exhibited about two to three feet of visibility. We were the only anglers afloat on this usually heavily fished urban waterway.

In-Fisherman's Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would occur from 8:02 a.m. to 10:02 a.m., 8:23 p.m. to 10:23 p.m., and 1:51 a.m. to 3:51 a.m.

We made our first casts at 12:16 p.m. At 1:20 p.m., we beached the boat under several overhanging trees and ate a leisurely lunch. We began fishing again at 1:45 p.m. Our last casts were at 2:48 p.m.  During these two hours and three minutes of fishing, we tangled with 11 largemouth bass, nine smallmouth bass, one channel catfish, one crappie, one flathead catfish, and one green sunfish. We temporarily hooked five fish that liberated themselves, and two of them might have been channel catfish because wads of mucus or slime were coating the fluorocarbon leader attached to the Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead.

Three of the nine smallmouth bass were caught on a shortened Z-Man’s hot-snakes Finesse TRD affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. Six of the nine smallmouth bass were caught on a shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse WormZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. Four of the 11 largemouth bass were caught on the hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig, and the other seven were caught on the Junebug Finesse WormZ rig. The Finesse WormZ rig is 3 ½ inches long, and the Finesse TRD rig is two inches long.

We caught six of the 20 black bass on the initial drop of our two Midwest finesse rigs. We caught six with a swim-glide-and-shake presentation. Four were caught on a drag-and-pause presentation.  Three were caught on a drag-pause-and-shake retrieve. A drag-and-deadstick motif caught one. They were caught in three to nine feet of water.

In the lower half of this reservoir, we fished along portions of a 900-yard stretch of a main-lake shoreline and around two of its main-lake points. This area has a 30- to 75-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, and a few significant scraps of concrete, and segments of this submerged terrain are enhanced with noteworthy 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. This area yielded three smallmouth bass and three largemouth bass. The three smallmouth bass were inveigled by the Junebug Finesse WormZ rig. One of the three smallmouth bass was caught around one of the main-lake points with a drag-pause-and-shake presentation in about eight to nine feet of water and many feet from the water’s edge. The second smallmouth bass was caught on the initial drop of the Finesse WormZ rig along the outside edge of the American water willows, and the third smallmouth bass was caught on a drag-and-pause presentation in about six feet of water and about 10 feet from the outside edge of the American water willows. One of the three largemouth bass was caught on the initial drop of the hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig around a massive laydown. The second largemouth bass was caught on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation around patches of Eurasian milfoil in about five to six feet of water. The third largemouth bass was caught around the second main-lake point on the initial drop of the Junebug Finesse WormZ rig in about three feet of water.    

We quickly fished along portions of two secondary shorelines inside a small feeder-creek arm in the lower quarter of the reservoir. The underwater terrain consists 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; it is also endowed with two docks, a few laydowns, and two overhanging trees. This terrain possesses a 25- to 40-degree slope. We caught one largemouth bass around a small pile of tree limbs under a large overhanging tree. It was caught on the initial drop of the Junebug Finesse WormZ rig in about three to four feet of water.

We fished along portions of about an 800-yard stretch of a main-lake shoreline in the lower quarter of the reservoir.  This shoreline is immediately adjacent to the west end of the dam. It possesses the entry to the reservoir's spillway, two main-lake points, and one tertiary point. The underwater terrains of the shoreline and points consist of gravel, rocks, and boulders that are frequently coated with submerged patches of Eurasian milfoil. The water’s edge is lined with many patches of American water willows, one dock, several laydowns, some overhanging trees, and occasional piles of tree limbs. This area yielded four smallmouth bass and five largemouth bass. We caught one of the four largemouth bass and three of the four smallmouth bass around one of the main-lake points; they were caught on our Junebug Finesse WormZ rigs; two were caught on the initial drop near the outside edge of the patches of American water willows in about three to four feet of water; the other two were caught on a drag-and-pause presentation in five to seven feet of water. Around the second main-lake point, we caught one largemouth bass on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation with the hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig in about five feet of water on a patch of Eurasian milfoil. The shoreline yielded four largemouth bass and one smallmouth bass, which were caught on the hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig with a swim-glide-and-shake presentation around patches of Eurasian milfoil in five to eight feet of water.

We ended this outing by fishing about 125 yards of the dam’s riprap shoreline, which is 2,200 feet long. This shoreline has a 45- to 55-degree slope.  The water’s edge is dressed with numerous patches of shallow-water American water willows. The underwater terrain of riprap is occasionally adorned with some patches of Eurasian milfoil. The hot-snakes Finesse TRD with a drag-pause-and-shake presentation caught two smallmouth bass in five to seven feet of water. The Junebug Finesse WormZ rig caught two largemouth bass; one was caught on a deadstick presentation in about eight feet of water and many feet from the water’s edge; the second was caught on a drag-and-pause presentation in about five to six feet of water.

In sum, we caught an average of almost 10 black bass per hour, which is a normal catch rate throughout the calendar year for us old codgers in northeastern Kansas.

May 28

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted this log on the Finesse News Network about his outing at a highly-pressured federal hill-land reservoir in north-central Texas with Norman Brown of Lewisville, Texas, on May 28. 

The last time we fished at this reservoir was on April 27. During that outing, it was unseasonably warm and a bit windy. We fished for six hours and managed to eke out 14 largemouth bass and three spotted bass.   

In-Fisherman's solunar calendar noted that fishing would be poor on May 28, and the most productive fishing periods would most likely occur from 2:35 a.m. to 4:35 a.m., 8:46 a.m. to 10:46 a.m., and 9:08 p.m. to 11:08 p.m. 

We fished from 7:20 p.m. to 12:20 p.m.

The sky conditions varied from overcast to mostly cloudy. It briefly sprinkled on us three times, and we drove home through a brief downpour. The morning’s low temperature was 66 degrees. The afternoon’s high temperature reached 84 degrees. The wind angled out of the north-by-northeast at about 5 mph, and it was calm for the last 90 minutes that we fished.  The barometric pressure measured 29.92 at 7:00 a.m., and  29.94 at noon.

The water temperature ranged from 74 degrees at a boat ramp in the lower end of the reservoir to 76 degrees at the dam. The water level was 0.18 of a foot above normal pool. We were delighted that the water was no longer murky from all the recent blustery winds and thunderstorms, and it displayed three feet of clarity during this outing.

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 five-hour endeavor, we fished a variety of locales inside a major feeder-creek arm, along three rocky main-lake points, a short 30-yard section of a chunk-rock main-lake shoreline, and about 70-percent of the dam. 

We began fishing inside the major feeder-creek arm in the lower end of the reservoir’s east tributary arm. We probed a variety of locations in this creek arm, and it was a grind to catch four largemouth bass, two spotted bass, and one freshwater drum. 

The perimeter of an island located in the lower end of the creek arm yielded two spotted bass. This island is enhanced with several large patches of Eurasian milfoil, chunky rocks, gravel, and a few scattered boulders. The two spotted bass were caught around patches of gravel mixed with chunky rocks in three to five feet of water from the northwest and northeast corners of the island. One was caught with a moderate-paced swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ rigged on a red 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. The other one was tempted by a slow-swimming retrieve with a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse TRD attached to a red  1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig. 

Four largemouth 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. Two of the four largemouth bass were enticed by a slow-swimming presentation with the green-pumpkin Finesse TRD rig, and the other two largemouth bass were induced by a slow swim-and-constant-shake presentation with a 2 3/4-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD TubeZ fastened to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig.

We failed to garner any strikes around a large cluster of submerged boulders on a flat and rock-laden secondary point, near several shallow patches of Eurasian milfoil, and around several rocky secondary points and flats that are situated along the south shoreline in the lower portion of this creek arm. 

After we finished fishing the first feeder-creek arm, we probed a series of three major rocky main-lake points and a 30-yard section of a rocky main-lake shoreline adjacent to one of the points.  These three main-lake points and the main-lake shoreline have 35- to 60- degree slopes. Their underwater terrains feature chunky rocks and huge boulders. 

The first main-lake point yielded one largemouth bass; the second main-lake point yielded two largemouth bass and one spotted bass, and the third main-lake point and its adjacent rocky main-lake shoreline were fruitless. These four black bass were dwelling in five to 13 feet of water, and were enticed by a slow swim-and-constant-shake presentation with a Z-Man’s Mud Minnow Finesse TRD matched with a black 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig.  

We then travelled a short distance westward and began fishing the dam. This dam is 14,980 feet long and 141 feet high. It 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. 

It took us about three hours to fish about 70-percent of the riprap-portion of the dam and around the outlet tower. We didn’t fish around the walkway’s two support columns. The dam’s riprap relinquished 16 largemouth bass, two spotted bass, two freshwater drum, two channel catfish, and two Texas spiny softshell turtles. They were scattered and many yards apart from each other. They were abiding in five to nine feet of water and 15 to 25 feet from the water’s edge. Eleven of these 18 largemouth and spotted bass were induced by a slow swim-and-constant-shake retrieve with the mud-minnow Finesse TRD rig, and seven were tempted by a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pumpkin-chartreuse ZinkerZ fastened to a chartreuse 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig.

The walls of the outlet tower surrendered two largemouth bass. One was suspended about eight feet below the surface in 37 feet of water next to one of the outlet tower’s concrete walls. It was caught on a slow swim-glide-and-occasional-shake presentation with the 2 1/2-inch pumpkin-chartreuse ZinkerZ rig. The other largemouth bass was suspended 22 feet below the surface in 47 feet of water and about 40 feet away from the outlet tower. It was caught on a vertical deadstick presentation with the mud minnow Finesse TRD combo.       

In closing, it was a pretty decent outing for this reservoir; we caught 30 black bass. Twenty-five of them were largemouth bass and five were spotted bass. And this is the most black bass that we have caught at this reservoir in quite some time.  

May 29

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his short outing on May 29 at a 64-year-old state reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 68 degrees. The afternoon’s high temperature was 81 degrees. The wind angled out of the east and southeast at 3 to 13 mph, with one 21-mph gust. The sky was overcast and partly cloudy with intermittent rain showers.   The barometric pressure was 29.98 at 12:52 a.m., 29.96 at 5:52 a.m., 29.93 at 11:52 a.m., and 29.86 at 2:52 p.m.

During the past two days, it has been raining off and on, and our rain gauge has garnered 1 3/4-inches of precipitation. And this short outing took place between two rain showers. More showers are predicted during the next two days.

The water level looked to be 1 ½ feet above normal. The surface temperature was 76 degrees. Along the dam, the water exhibited three to five feet of visibility.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would occur from 9:16 a.m. to 11:16 a.m., 9:39 p.m. to 11:39 p.m., and 3:04 a.m. to 5:04 a.m.

As I made my first cast at 1:46 p.m., I was hoping I could catch 25 largemouth bass by 2:46 p.m.  During that hour, I caught 22 largemouth bass and accidentally caught six green sunfish. As a rain shower was forming nearby, I elected to fish for another 10 minutes, and I caught largemouth bass numbers 23 and 24.

I spent the entire 70 minutes fishing along the riprap shoreline of the dam, which lies along the north side of this reservoir. It is 2,280 feet long and 58 feet high with a 55- to 65-degree slope.  Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. This underwater terrain is coated with several thick patches of bushy pondweeds and wads of filamentous algae. The water’s edge possesses five tiny patches of American water willows and several small piles of tree limbs and logs.

Two of the 24 largemouth bass were caught on a shortened Z-Man’s hot-snakes Finesse TRD affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. Z-Man’s yoga-pants Fuzzy NuggetZ attached to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jighead caught two largemouth bass. Twenty largemouth bass were caught on a Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse ShadZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead.

The Finesse ShadZ rig is at the top of this photograph. The Fuzzy NuggetZ rig is at the bottom. This was the first time I have used the Fuzzy NuggetZ, but the Finesse ShadZ has played a major role in our Midwest FInesse repertoire since 2011.  

Three were caught on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation. Four were caught on the initial drop. The others were caught on either a drag-and-pause presentation or a drag-pause-and-shake presentation. They were caught in water as shallow as three feet and as deep as eight feet. They were caught as close as three feet from the water’s edge to as far as 15 feet from the water’s edge.

Two of the largemouth bass had a large and colorful crayfish claw protruding from their gullets and stomachs. The other 22 didn’t reveal what they had been foraging on.

I fished from the western end to the eastern end of the dam, and the final 125 yards of the riprap shoreline long the eastern end of the dam yielded 19 of the 24 largemouth bass, and those 19 were caught on the Finesse ShadZ rig. The other 635 yards yielded five largemouth bass; two of those five were caught on the Fuzzy NuggetZ rig; the hot-shakes Finesse TRD rig inveigled two of the five largemouth bass; the Finesse ShadZ rig lured one of the five largemouth bass.

In sum, I caught an average of 20 largemouth bass per hour, and the classic Finesse ShadZ rig exhibited its effectiveness again.