Ned Kehde: Guide to Midwest Finesse Fishing: September 2025

Bob Gum of Kansas City, Kansas, with one of the smallmouth bass that he caught on Sept, 2.

Guide to Midwest Finesse Fishing: September 2025  

Sept. 2

Bob Gum of Kansas City, Kansas, posted a brief log on the Finesse News Network about his outing at one of the federal reservoirs in northeastern Kansas on Sept 3.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 61 degrees. The afternoon’s high temperature was 80 degrees. The wind varied from calm to variable to angling out of the east, northeast, and north at 3 to 8 mph. The sky was overcast, partly cloudy, and mostly cloudy.  The barometric pressure was 30.12 at 12:52 a.m., 30.10 at 5:52 a.m., 30.11 at 11:52 a.m., and 30.06 at 3:52 p.m.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would occur from 6:36 a.m. to 8:36 a.m., 7:02 p.m. to 9:02 p.m., and 12:22 a.m. to 2:22 a.m.

I launched my boat at 6:30 a.m. and stopped fishing at 1:00 p.m.

I began fishing for white bass around main-lake points and along main-lake shorelines in the lower quarter of this reservoir. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, as well as a submerged roadbed, silo, barn foundation, and house foundation.  I worked with a three-inch pearl-salt-pepper curly-tailed grub affixed to a white 1/8-ounce mushroom-style jig. And it was a surprising task to catch 15 small white bass and 10 crappie.

I finished the outing fishing around a main-lake point at the mouth of a large feeder-creek arm, and inside this feeder-creek arm, I fished across a significant hump, around several riprap jetties, along a shoreline, and the riprap shorelines that are part of a bridge and a significant causeway. I fished about 75 percent of the causeway’s riprap shorelines. The underwater terrains of all these areas consist of either gravel, rocks, and boulders or riprap.

The most effective Midwest finesse rigs were a Z-Man’s Junebug TRD TicklerZ on a red 1/20-ounce mushroom-style jig and a 2 ½-inch Z-Man’s coppertreuse ZinkerZ on a black 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig with a swim-glide-and-occasional-twitch retrieve.  I caught four largemouth bass and two smallmouth bass. One of the smallmouth bass was 20.5 inches long and weighed 5.75 pounds.

During these six hours and 30 minutes, I struggled to catch 37 fish: 15 white bass, 10 crappie, six drum, four largemouth bass, and two smallmouth bass. 

Sept. 2

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his outing at a 63-year-old and heavily fished state reservoir in northeastern Kansas on Sept. 2, which was the day after it was heavily lambasted during the Labor Day weekend.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 61 degrees. The afternoon’s high temperature was 80 degrees. The wind varied from calm to variable to angling out of the east, northeast, and north at 3 to 8 mph. The sky was overcast, partly cloudy, and mostly cloudy.  The barometric pressure was 30.12 at 12:52 a.m., 30.10 at 5:52 a.m., 30.11 at 11:52 a.m., and 30.06 at 3:52 p.m.

The water level looked to be more than a foot below normal. The surface temperature ranged from 79 to 80 degrees. The water exhibited 1 ½ feet of clarity on a shallow-water flat inside a primary feeder-creek arm and about 4 1/2 feet of visibility along the riprap shoreline of the dam.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would occur from 6:36 a.m. to 8:36 a.m., 7:02 p.m. to 9:02 p.m., and 1:22 a.m. to 2:22 a.m.

This was one of my geriatric outings, which means that it was a short one. I made my first cast at 2:07 p.m. and the last at 4:11 p.m. During this two-hour and four-minute outing, I tangled with 15 largemouth bass, seven green sunfish, and one bluegill.  

Two of the 15 largemouth bass were allured by a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin-blue Finesse Shad Z affixed to a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. Two 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. Eleven largemouth bass were caught on a slightly shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s watermelon-red-flake Finesse WormZ affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead.

The Z-Man’s green-pumpkin-blue Finesse ShadZ rig is at the top. The Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse ShadZ rig is in the middle. The Z-Man’s watermelon-red-flake Finesse WormZ rig is at the bottom.

 My primary focus was to thoroughly dissect a large and flat main-lake point, and I spent 54 minutes on this endeavor. In my eyes, it is almost the size of a baseball field. From the water’s edge, it has about a 25-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel and rocks, which are adorned with some patches of brittle naiad, coontail, and several manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees. The outside edge of the submerged aquatic vegetation is in six to seven feet of water. Along the water’s edges, there are some very shallow-water patches of American pondweeds and American water willows, which I did not dissect. I spent about 75 percent of the 54 minutes probing the outside edges of the submerged vegetation with the boat floating in about 10 to 12 feet of water and executing casts that landed on the top of the vegetation and about 15 feet from the outside edge, and I employed a slow swim-glide-and-subtle-shake presentation to the outside edge of the vegetation. When the retrieve reached the outside edge, I allowed the Midwest finesse rig to glide to the bottom, where I deadsticked it for a few seconds. Most of the time, I was more than 200 feet from the water’s edge and the patches of American water willows and American pondweeds. I also fished this area by placing the boat on top of the patches of submerged vegetation in four to five feet of water and making casts towards the outside edges of the vegetation and employing a slow swimming presentation, which some anglers call a do-nothing retrieve, and this retrieve allowed the Midwest finesse rig to polish the tops of the patches of submerged vegetation and eastern red cedar trees. While working along the outside edge, I caught six largemouth bass. The Finesse WormZ rig allured four of the six, and I battled with two largemouth bass that unfettered themselves when they swam inside two piles of eastern red cedar trees. The Junebug Finesse ShadZ caught two of the six. Two largemouth bass were caught on the Finesse WormZ rig while I was on top of the submerged vegetation, fishing and casting to the outside edge of the submerged vegetation. Two of the eight were caught on the initial drop. One was caught on the slow swimming presentation. Five were caught on the swim-glide-and-shake presentation. I failed to garner a strike on the deadstick presentation at the end of the swim-glide-and-shake presentation.

I spent about 22 minutes quickly examining and making a few casts and retrieves around another flat main-lake point and across a short segment of a massive shallow-water flat. The water clarity exhibited an odd brownish hue. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and some silt. Portions of it are endowed with patches of coontail, sago pondweeds, and brittle naiad. There are some shallow-water patches of American pondweeds and American water willows. There are also scores of manmade piles of submerged eastern red cedar trees. Some of the patches of coontail and sago pondweeds are vast and thick, and a few are nearly impenetrable by a boat and a Midwest finesse rig. The initial drop of the Finesse WormZ rig allured one largemouth bass adjacent to a partially submerged eastern red cedar tree in about five to six feet of water.

I spent the last 47 minutes quickly fishing along the entire riprap shoreline of the dam. It is 600 yards long with a height of 85 feet. It possesses a 35- to 75-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of riprap, which is occasionally interlaced with wads of filamentous algae and a few minor patches of submerged aquatic vegetation. It is also decorated with some manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees in 10 to 15 feet of water. The water’s edge is endowed with six minor and shallow-water patches of American water willows; three of them are now completely out of the water, and there are some shallow-water patches of American pondweeds.  The flatter and shallow-water sections at each end of the dam are enriched with the dam’s thickest patches of emergent and submerged aquatic vegetation, but the aquatic vegetation failed to yield a largemouth bass. There are a few minor piles of submerged tree limbs decorating the riprap, and some of them are completely out of the water. To fish the entire dam in 47 minutes, I did a lot of strolling with the green-pumpkin-blue Finesse ShadZ rig, Junebug Finesse ShadZ rig, and watermelon-red-flake Finesse WormZ rig. While fishing at this fast pace, I struggled to catch six largemouth bass. Three were caught on the initial drop in 2 ½ to four feet of water, and the other three were caught as I strolled and employed a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in five to eight feet of water. The green-pumpkin-blue-flake Finesse ShadZ rig inveigled two of the six largemouth bass, and the Finesse WormZ rig caught four.

In sum, I caught an average of seven largemouth bass an hour. 

Sept. 4

Ned and Patty Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a brief log on the Finesse News Network about their outing at a 93-year-old state reservoir in northeastern Kansas on Sept. 4.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 45 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 75 degrees. The wind fluctuated from calm to variable to angling out of the north, northwest, south, southwest, and southeast at 3 to 9 mph.   The conditions of the sky ranged from foggy and misty to fair. The barometric pressure was 29.95 at 12:52 a.m., 29.97 at 5:52 a.m., 29.91 at 11:52 a.m., and 29.87 at 2:52 p.m.

The water level looked to be about a foot above normal. The water exhibited five to nine feet of clarity. The surface temperature was 77 degrees.

To our surprise, we were the only anglers afloat on this usually heavily fished exurban state reservoir.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 8:12 a.m. to 10:12 a.m., 8:39 p.m. to 10:39 p.m., and 1:59 a.m. to 3:59 a.m.

This was one of our traditional conjugal and geriatric outings, which means it is a leisurely piscatorial affair. They rarely exceed two hours. They are a way for us to quickly relish a few of the joys and peace that Mother Nature provides.  On this outing, we spent about 15 minutes enjoying a small lunch while the boat tranquilly floated and drifted about in the middle of the lake, and turkey vultures glided gracefully overhead.  Throughout this outing, we watched and listened to the ways of the late summer bird and insect life, and we frequently observed and talked about the late summer conditions of the terrestrial and aquatic vegetation. In short, our casts, retrieves, and piscatorial concentration were rarely intense.

We made our first casts at 11:25 and caught a largemouth bass on our first casts. Our last casts and retrieves were executed at 1:40 p.m., and we estimated that we fished for one hour and 55 minutes. Our largemouth bass counter indicated that we caught 20 largemouth bass.

One of the 20 largemouth bass was caught on a Z-Man’s Canada-craw TRD BugZ affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. One was caught on a Z-Man’s coppertreuse Finesse TRD affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead.  Two were caught on a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Tiny TicklerZ on a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. Six were caught on a slightly shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s watermelon-red-flake Finesse WormZ affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. Ten were caught on a Z-Man’s hot-snakes Finesse TRD attached to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead.

This is the Z-Man’s hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig.

We caught two largemouth bass around a main-lake point at the mouths of a small feeder-creek arm and one of this reservoir’s two primary feeder-creek arms. This point has a 35- to 40-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are adorned with patches of brittle naiad and coontail, as well as a few manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees. The water’s edge is embellished with thick patches of American water willows, and the outside edges of these patches are entwined with patches of brittle naiad. One largemouth bass was caught on the TRD BugZ rig with a swim-and-pause presentation around a patch of brittle naiad in about five feet of water. The second largemouth bass was caught on the Finesse WormZ rig and a swim-glide-and-shake presentation at the outside edge of a patch of brittle naiad in about five feet of water.

We fished along about a 400-yard stretch of one of this primary feeder-creek arm’s shorelines. It possesses a 30- to 45-degree slope.  Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are coated with many patches of brittle naiad and coontail. The water’s edge is graced with many overhanging trees and patches of American water willows. As we probed this shoreline, we began to suspect that the largemouth bass fishing was going to be a difficult chore. We elicited 13 strikes, but hooked only three largemouth bass. One was caught on the initial drop of the coppertreuse Finesse TRD rig in about 3 1/2 feet of water near the outside edge of a patch of American water willows intermixed with brittle naiad. Two were caught on the Finesse WormZ rig with a swim-glide-and-shake presentation around the submerged patches of brittle naiad and coontail in five to six feet of water.

On the massive flat in the back of this reservoir’s primary feeder-creek arm, we gingerly floated across the flat and ate lunch.  This area is endowed with four submerged creek channels, a small island, humps, and minor ledges. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, and silt. Portions of the submerged creek channels are silt-laden. Brittle naiad, coontail, and many manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees adorn the underwater terrains. We tangled with six largemouth bass. Three were caught on the hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig with a swim-and-slight-pause retrieve around patches of brittle naiad and coontail in water as shallow as five feet and as deep as eight feet. The watermelon-red-flake Finesse WormZ rig with a swim-glide-and-shake presentation allured three largemouth bass around patches of coontail and piles of eastern red cedar trees in about three to eight feet of water.

At the mouth of this reservoir’s second primary feeder-creek arm, we caught nine largemouth bass around the main-lake point and along about a 75-yard stretch of its main-lake shoreline. This area has a 40- to 45-degree slope.  Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. This terrain is also enhanced with a stone and concrete foundation of a barn and house. Submerged patches of brittle naiad and coontail coated portions of the underwater terrain. The water’s edge is garnished with thick patches of American water willows, which are intertwined with brittle naiad, an occasional laydown, and a few piles of tree limbs. Two of the nine largemouth bass were caught on the Tiny TicklerZ rig with a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in five to seven feet of water. Seven were caught on the hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig; two were caught on the initial drop in about four to five feet of water; five were caught on a slow swim-and-pause presentation in five to eight feet of water. Because Patty had a meeting to attend at 2:30 p.m., this main-lake point and its main-lake shoreline were the last spots that we could fish.

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

Sept. 5

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his Sept. 5 outing at a state reservoir in north-central Texas.

Norman Brown of Lewisville, Texas, joined me at a state reservoir in north-central Texas. I last fished at this reservoir on August 19 with Roger Farish of Highland Village, Texas, when we caught a mixed bag of 45 largemouth and spotted bass in four hours.

The morning’s low temperature on Sept. 5 was 74 degrees, and the afternoon’s high peaked at 102 degrees. The sky conditions varied from overcast to mostly cloudy to partly cloudy and sunny. The wind quartered out of the southwest, west, and northwest at 5 to 10 mph, and for the last two hours that we were afloat, it was calm.  The barometric pressure measured 29.75 at 7:00 a.m. and rose to 29.81 at noon.

Poor fishing was forecasted by In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar. It also indicated that the most productive fishing periods would occur between 3:01 a.m. and 5:01 a.m., 9:13 a.m. and 11:13 a.m., and 9:39 a.m. to 11:39 a.m.

We made our first casts at 7:30 a.m. and our last ones at 12:30 p.m. We targeted a main-lake island, eight major main-lake points, three major main-lake shorelines, several rocky secondary points and shorelines inside two bays, and a concrete-debris-laden jetty. All of these places are situated along the reservoir’s east shoreline in the lower and middle portions of the reservoir.

The surface temperature ranged from 81 to 83 degrees. The water level was 2.19 feet below the normal pool. The water exhibited about three feet of visibility.

We caught 11 largemouth bass around the main-lake island, which is located in the lower end of the reservoir. This island’s topography is flat and adorned with patches of boulders, large chunky rocks, thick patches of partially-flooded bushes, stickups, and standing timber.

These 11 largemouth bass were abiding in three to five feet of water around the outside edges of the thick patches of partially-flooded bushes and stickups that embellish the east shoreline of the island. These bass were allured by a swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s Space Guppy Slim SwimZ matched with a chartreuse 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead, a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD TicklerZ rigged on an unpainted 3/32-ounce mushroom-style jig, a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pumpkin-chartreuse ZinkerZ rigged on an unpainted 3/32-ounce mushroom-style jig, and a Z-Man’s coppertreuse Finesse TRD rigged on an unpainted 3/32-ounce mushroom-style jig.

Twenty-two spotted bass and largemouth bass were caught from three of the eight main-lake points that we targeted; the other five points were devoid of largemouth and spotted bass. The three productive points are steep and adorned with decorative rock and concrete retaining walls, several covered boat houses, and two concrete boat ramps. Chunky rocks and boulders reinforce the base of the retaining walls. The other five points are flat and graced with chunky rocks and boulders, and they have been the very productive locales during the past couple of months. To our dismay, they were all unproductive this time. These 22 black bass were allured by a slow and steady swimming retrieve with the 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s space-guppy Slim SwimZ combo, a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse TRD fastened on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig, and a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s slam-shady GrubZ rigged on a blue 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig.

The shaded areas along five rock-and-boulder-laden shorelines relinquished four spotted bass and one largemouth bass. The steepest shoreline, which is a rock bluff about 100 yards long, yielded two of the four spotted bass and one largemouth bass. These five black bass engulfed either a slightly shortened Z-Man’s hot-snakes TRD TicklerZ threaded on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jig and employed with a slow swim-and-constant-shake retrieve or the chartreuse-jig green-pumpkin Finesse TRD rig and a slow and steady swimming presentation. They were caught around the deep-water sides and in the openings between the large boulders in five to seven feet of water.

We investigated one minor bay and one major bay to see if any significant numbers of threadfin shad and black bass had begun their annual fall migration into the bays. We found several large aggregations of threadfin shad in both of these bays, but no concentrations of black bass. In fact, we failed to elicit a strike from two flat and rock-laden shorelines and three minor rocky secondary points in the first bay.  In the larger bay, we caught only two largemouth bass from a rocky secondary point about halfway inside the bay. One of these two largemouth bass was fooled by a slow swimming retrieve with the unpainted jig and the green-pumpkin Finesse TRD rig, and the other largemouth bass was induced by a slow swim-and-constant-shake retrieve with a slightly shortened Z-Man’s pearl TRD TicklerZ affixed to a blue 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead.

Our last spot featured large chunks of concrete debris that covers a jetty in the midsection of the reservoir’s east shoreline, and it yielded three largemouth bass. These three bass were scattered around the jetty and dwelling in three to 10 feet of water and five to 15 feet from the submerged concrete debris.  Two were allured by a slow swimming retrieve with the chartreuse jig and green-pumpkin Finesse TRD, and one largemouth bass was enticed by the 2 1/2-inch slam-shady GrubZ rig.  

Overall, this was another stellar black-bass outing by north-central Texas’ standards and a nice start to the month of September. The fishing was slightly slower as the black bass were more scattered than they were on Aug. 19.  During this five-hour endeavor, we caught 30 largemouth bass, 10 spotted bass, two green sunfish, and one channel catfish. We employed 13 Midwest finesse rigs to accomplish this task, and eight of them were effective.

Twelve of these 40 black bass were beguiled by a steady swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s space-guppy Slim SwimZ on a chartreuse 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. Ten were enticed by a slow swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s slam-shady GrubZ on a blue 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. Seven were tempted by a slow swimming retrieve with an unpainted 3/32-ounce mushroom-style jig sporting a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse TRD. Four were bewitched by a slow swim-and-constant-shaking retrieve with a slightly shortened Z-Man’s hot-snakes TRD TicklerZ fastened to a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. Three more were coaxed into striking a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pumpkin-chartreuse ZinkerZ affixed on an unpainted 3/32-ounce mushroom-style jig and a slow swimming retrieve. Three were also caught on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig dressed with a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse TRD.  One largemouth bass was caught on a slow swimming retrieve with a Z-Man’s coppertreuse Finesse TRD rigged on an unpainted 3/32-ounce mushroom-style jig.  A slow swim-and-constant-shake presentation with a slightly shortened Z-Man’s pearl TRD TicklerZ on a blue 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG mushroom Jighead allured one largemouth bass.

Sept. 6

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his Sept. 6 outing at a federal reservoir in north-central Texas.

A major cold front passed through north-central Texas during the evening hours of Sept. 5, and it was accompanied by high winds, rain, and cooler temperatures.

Sept. 6 started off overcast, and the morning’s low temperature was a pleasant 64 degrees.  At 3:03 p.m., the cloud cover broke apart and the sun began to shine. The afternoon’s high temperature was a delightful 78 degrees. The wind blew out of the northwest at 5 to 10 mph. The barometric pressure measured 30.12 at noon and 30.05 at 4:00 p.m.

I decided to take advantage of the cooler weather and made an impromptu solo outing to a stingy federal reservoir in north-central Texas. And even though the Labor Day weekend is behind us, schools are back in session, and hunting season has begun, this reservoir was still bustling with bank anglers, kayak anglers, pleasure boaters, wake boarders, jet skiers, water skiers, and sailboats.

I was afloat from noon to 4:00 p.m., and I fished behind and around other anglers all afternoon.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the fishing would be great on Sept. 6. The most lucrative periods would occur from 3:44 a.m. to 5:44 a.m., 9:57 a.m. to 11:57 a.m., and 10:22 p.m. to 12:22 a.m.

The water exhibited 18 inches of visibility. The surface temperature varied from 80 to 81 degrees. The water level was at its normal pool level.

This outing began on a slow note. I launched the boat inside a small feeder-creek arm in the middle section of the reservoir, and I immediately dropped the trolling motor and began fishing from the mouth of this creek arm to its upper end, dissecting several gravel and rocky secondary points, two clay and gravel flats, and some submerged logs and stickups in the interior of a small cove. Though there was an abundance of threadfin shad in this creek arm, I caught only one largemouth bass from a minor secondary point in the midsection of the creek arm. It was extracted from three feet of water around the tip of the point with a steady swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s space-guppy Slim SwimZ rigged on a chartreuse 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. I continued to use this Space Guppy Slim SwimZ rig throughout this outing, and this was the only bass it would entice.  

From that creek arm, I travelled about 1 1/2 miles to the lower end of the reservoir and fished around a main-lake island.

This island has been virtually devoid of largemouth bass, spotted bass, and smallmouth bass for most of this year. This time, my sonar devices revealed many large schools of threadfin shad around the perimeter of the island, but I could eke out only one largemouth bass. This island’s shallow-water areas are littered with standing timber, clusters of buck brush, laydowns, and deteriorating stumps. Its submerged terrain is mostly flat and consists of red clay, small gravel, chunky rocks, and a few boulders. This bass was caught from the west end of the island in less than five feet of water and within 10 feet of the water’s edge. It was caught on a steady swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ fastened on a chartreuse 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. And like the 2 1/2-inch space-guppy Slim SwimZ rig, this was the only largemouth bass that was attracted to this rig.

From the main-lake island, I traveled a short distance to a nearby feeder-creek arm. I targeted its two main-lake entry points, which are primarily flat and rocky. I failed to elicit any strikes around the first entry point. The second entry point was more productive; it relinquished nine largemouth bass and one freshwater drum that were associated with the outside edges of a few shallow patches of small boulders and rocks in three to five feet of water. One of these nine bass was tempted by a slow swimming retrieve with a 3 1/2-inch chartreuse-sparkle GrubZ affixed on a chartreuse 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. And like the other two Slim SwimZ rigs, this would be the only bass that this rig would attract during this outing. Four largemouth bass were allured by a shortened 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s Junebug TRD TicklerZ matched with a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead that was employed with a slow swim-and-constant-shake retrieve. Three largemouth bass were induced by a slow swim-and-constant-shake presentation with a shortened 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD TicklerZ threaded on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead, and the ninth largemouth bass and one freshwater drum were enticed by a slow swim-and-constant-shake presentation with a shortened 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pearl TRD TicklerZ on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce OG Mushroom Jighead.

I then moved about a mile eastward and dissected portions of two flat and rocky main-lake shorelines, and I failed to elicit any strikes from these two shorelines.

After that, I ventured into another major feeder-creek arm in the lower end of the reservoir. The first main-lake entry point, and its adjacent shoreline that is adorned with flooded buck brush, failed to yield a strike.

A floating tractor-tire reef that is positioned in 32 feet of water and protects a large marina surrendered one largemouth bass. This largemouth bass was relating to the side of the tire reef and was suspended about five feet below the surface in 32 feet of water. It was inveigled by the 2 1/2-inch Junebug TRD TicklerZ that was implemented with a slow swim-and-constant-shake presentation.

I failed to elicit any strikes from the opposite entry point, two rocky secondary points, and a 50-yard segment of a flat and rocky secondary shoreline in the midsection of the creek arm. In the back end of this creek arm, I probed a 25-yard stretch of rocky shoreline that has a 45-degree slope and is adorned with patches of stickups, broken tree branches, and a laydown. This stretch of shoreline yielded three largemouth bass. They were associated with the outside edge of a thick patch of stickups in three feet of water. Two were induced by a slow swim-and-constant-shake retrieve with the 2 1/2-inch Junebug TRD TicklerZ rig, and one was caught on the 2 1/2-inch green-pumpkin TRD TicklerZ combo and a slow swim-and-constant-shake retrieve.      

I finished this outing in the backend of another feeder-creek arm in the lower end of the reservoir. I targeted eight concrete bridge support columns of a small bridge that crosses over the creek arm. These eight support columns stand in three to 12 feet of water, and they surrendered six largemouth bass. These six bass were suspended about three to five feet below the surface of the water and were positioned within a foot or two of the support columns. Five of the six largemouth bass were caught on the 2 1/2-inch green-pumpkin TRD TicklerZ combo, and one was caught on the 2 1/2-inch pearl TRD TicklerZ combo. Both rigs were retrieved next to the concrete support columns while using a slow swim-and-constant-shake retrieve.  

In closing, I am optimistic that the black-bass fishing is beginning to improve at this reservoir. During this four-hour jaunt, I was encouraged by tangling with 21 largemouth bass. I also crossed paths with one freshwater drum.

This is only the second time this year that we have caught 20 or more black bass at this reservoir. The other 20-plus black bass outing occurred on July 10, when Norman Brown of Lewisville, Texas, and I caught 25 largemouth bass and spotted bass in five hours. 

Sept. 9

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his Sept. 9 outing at a state reservoir in north-central Texas.

From 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., John Thomas of Denton, Texas, joined me for a morning excursion at a rural state reservoir in north-central Texas. This isn’t the same state reservoir Norman Brown of Lewisville, Texas, and I fished on Sept. 5. And except for two other bass anglers in another boat, we had the reservoir to ourselves.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar table indicated that the fishing would be average, and the most productive fishing periods would occur from 3:44 a.m. to 5:44 a.m., 9:57 a.m. to 11:57 a.m., and 10:22 p.m. to 12:22 a.m.

It was a sunny day, and there was not a cloud in sight. The morning’s low temperature was 63 degrees, and the afternoon’s high climbed to 87 degrees. The wind was calm until 9:42 a.m., then it began to meander out of the south and southwest at 5 to 10 mph. The barometric pressure measured 30.03 at 7:00 a.m. and 30.05 at 1:00 p.m.  

The water level appeared to be about two feet below its normal pool. The water exhibited three feet of visibility in its lower region and about 12 inches in its upper end. The surface temperature ranged from 77 to 79 degrees.

This reservoir’s underwater terrain consists primarily of red clay, small gravel, chunky rocks, boulders, stumps, and some standing timber. Native emergent vegetation includes American water willow. Native submerged vegetation includes muskgrass and coontail. Native floating-leaved American pondweed and non-native yellow floating-heart are present.

We began this outing along a 60-yard section of a flat main-lake shoreline on the south side of the reservoir’s west tributary arm. This shoreline is adorned with thick patches of American pondweeds and some submerged stumps. It is endowed with two flat and rocky main-lake points, and there is a small pocket situated between the two points. One of the points is endowed with a rock pile that is covered with three feet of water. The other point is enhanced with chunky rocks, a dilapidated concrete boat ramp, and thick mats of American pondweeds.

This shoreline surrendered one largemouth bass and two spotted bass. The largemouth bass and one of the two spotted bass were caught in three to five feet of water from the end of the dilapidated boat ramp with a slow swimming retrieve with a 3 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin GrubZ affixed on a chartreuse 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead, and the other spotted bass was caught in three feet of water from the side of the rock pile. It was induced by a steady swimming retrieve with a three-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ rigged on a chartreuse 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. We failed to elicit any strikes from underneath three covered boat houses and around many patches of American pondweeds.

At a main-lake point located about half a mile east of the main-lake shoreline that we just fished, we caught one largemouth bass in four feet of water. This point has a 45-degree incline. It is laden with chunk rocks, thick patches of American pondweeds, and four boat houses. This largemouth bass was caught on a slow swim-and-constant-shake retrieve parallel to the outside edge of one of the patches of American pondweeds with a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse ShadZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead.

Along the shaded east-side shoreline inside a medium-sized feeder-creek arm located about a quarter mile west of the previous main-lake point, we caught four largemouth bass.  This shoreline is flat and rock-laden and graced with thick patches of American pondweeds and about a dozen boat houses. These four largemouth bass were abiding underneath and along the sides of four of the 12 boathouses that float in five to 12 feet of water. Two of them were caught on a slow swim-and-constant-shake retrieve with the Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse ShadZ rig. The other two were enticed by a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation with a shortened 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD TicklerZ affixed on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead.  

Around a flat clay-and-gravel main-lake point and an adjoining 50-yard section of a pea-gravel and red clay shoreline that leads into a large bay in the upper end of the reservoir, we caught two largemouth bass. This shoreline is flat. It is cluttered with countless laydowns, stumps, broken tree branches, and patches of American pondweeds. One of the two largemouth bass was caught in three feet of water next to a laydown located on the gravel-and-clay shoreline on the initial drop of the 3 1/2-inch green-pumpkin GrubZ combo. The other largemouth bass was extracted from five feet of water from one side of the adjoining main-lake point on a slow swimming retrieve with the 3 1/2-inch green-pumpkin GrubZ rig.

Next, we ventured into a small feeder-creek arm located a short distance east of the large bay in the upper end of the reservoir. We fished from its mouth to its back end, and we failed to elicit any strikes.  

After that, we travelled about a mile eastward to a major feeder-creek arm situated on the north side and middle section of the reservoir. We dissected a 100-yard-long bluff, several boathouses, two concrete boat ramps, and three ledges covered with chunk rock. We failed to elicit any strikes along the bluff. The boathouses and boat ramps were also fruitless. The three ledges are located along the west shoreline in the midsection of this creek arm, and they relinquished five spotted bass. All of them were relating to the deep-water sides of the ledges in five to seven feet of water, and they were allured by the 2 1/2-inch green-pumpkin TRD TicklerZ rigs, which were employed with either a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation or a slow swim-and-constant-shake presentation.

After we finished fishing inside the major feeder-creek arm, we moved to the lower end of the reservoir and probed the riprap that covers a small dam and a rocky shoreline just west of the dam. The dam’s height is 20 feet, and its length is 1,330 feet. The dam surrendered one largemouth bass that was caught in 13 feet of water and about 20 feet from the water's edge. It was induced into striking the green-pumpkin Finesse ShadZ rig with a slow swim-and-constant-shake presentation.  

We caught two spotted bass and three largemouth bass from a submerged rock ledge that parallels another main-lake shoreline just west of the dam. This ledge is adorned with chunky rocks, boulders, and a meager stand of flooded timber. These five black bass were also relating to the deep-water side of the ledge in 10 to 15 feet of water. Three of them were bewitched by the green-pumpkin TRD TicklerZ rig and a slow swim-glide-and-shake retrieve, and two were fooled by the green-pumpkin Finesse ShadZ combo and a slow swim-and-constant-shake presentation.

We also fished a portion of another minor feeder-creek arm just west of the main-lake shoreline and ledge, and we failed to locate any black bass in this creek arm.      

We finished the outing by probing two more rock ledges inside another major creek arm in the lower end of the reservoir.  These two ledges are adorned with a decorative concrete retaining wall and a sheet-metal retaining wall that are embellished with large rocks, boulders, small patches of American pondweeds, and three large boat houses. Both of these ledges yielded one largemouth bass. They were suspended from five to eight feet below the surface in 15 to 23 feet of water. One engulfed the green-pumpkin Finesse ShadZ on the initial fall, and the other largemouth bass was snookered by a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation with the green-pumpkin TRD TicklerZ rig.

In sum, the black bass bite was slow and inconsistent during this six-hour excursion. We caught 14 largemouth bass and nine spotted bass.  We also inadvertently caught one large bluegill.

None of these black bass were large ones, but the bulk of them were keeper-size.

Location-wise, nine of them were caught from main-lake lairs. The other 14 were caught from the lower to the middle portions of five feeder-creek arms and inside the mouth of a large bay. Flat terrains were more productive than steep ones.

As we were trailering our boat, John spoke with the other two anglers that we saw earlier in the day. They reported that they had a tough outing, too, and caught only a couple of bass.

Sept. 11

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his Sept. 11 outing at a federal reservoir in north-central Texas.

The early hint of fall in north-central Texas has passed, and it feels more like summer again. The daytime high temperatures are rising back into the mid-90s, and the nighttime lows are climbing up into the mid-70s.

Sept. 11 was a sunny and hot day. The morning low temperature was 74 degrees, and the afternoon high was 95 degrees. The wind quartered out of the southeast at 5 to 10 mph. The barometric pressure measured 30.06 at 7:00 a.m. and 30.10 at 1:00 p.m.  

John Thomas of Denton, Texas, and I fished at one of several federal hill-land reservoirs in north-central Texas from 7:06 a.m. to 1:06 p.m

The water level was 1.21 feet low. The water exhibited 20 inches of visibility. The surface temperature ranged from 78 degrees in the main-lake to 83 degrees in the back of a small feeder-creek arm.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar table noted that fishing would be poor on Sept. 11, and the most productive fishing periods would occur from 1:57 a.m. to 3:57 a.m., 8:11 a.m. to 10:11 a.m., and 2:25 p.m. to 4:25 p.m.

We focused our attention on two prominent main-lake points, portions of two rocky main-lake shorelines, sections of three feeder-creek arms, two bridge embankments blanketed with riprap, about 25 percent of the riprap shoreline that covers the dam, and the walls of a large water outlet tower in the middle of the dam. All of these locations are situated in the lower region of the reservoir.

The two main-lake points that we investigated are flat. Red clay, small gravel, chunky rocks, and clusters of large boulders make up the majority of their underwater terrains. Several segments of their shallow-water areas are embellished with thick patches of buck brush, stickups, a couple of laydowns, and a submerged asphalt roadbed.

The first point yielded two largemouth bass and one spotted bass that were abiding in less than five feet of water; one of them was associated with the outside edges of a couple of patches of stickups, and two were associated with one side of the roadbed. Two were caught on a fast-paced swimming retrieve with a slightly shortened Z-Man’s pearl Baby Goat rigged on a chartreuse 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead, and one was caught on a swimming retrieve with a three-inch Z-Man’s Slim SwimZ rigged on a chartreuse 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead.

The second main-lake point yielded two largemouth bass, one spotted bass, and one white bass. They were extracted from three to five feet of water near patches of large rocks and boulders on one side of the point. The other side of the point was fruitless. One largemouth bass, one spotted bass, and the white bass were enticed with a fast swimming retrieve with the Z-Man’s pearl Baby Goat rig, and the other largemouth bass was tempted by a swimming retrieve with the three-inch pearl Slim SwimZ rig. 

The two main-lake shorelines weren’t very productive.

The first shoreline is about 100 yards long and graced with a long and shallow-water rock ledge. The top of the ledge is covered with a couple of feet of water and then it descends into 17 feet of water. In three to five feet of water near the deep-water side of the ledge, we caught two spotted bass. They were induced by a swimming retrieve with the three-inch pearl Slim SwimZ rig.  

The second main-lake shoreline is about 50 yards long. It is also flat and features two gravel tertiary points, and we failed to elicit any strikes along this shoreline.

Inside the three feeder-creek arms, we fished from their lower sections to their upper ends. We focused on clay-and-pea-gravel flats cluttered with flooded stickups, a couple of laydowns, shallow patches of buck brush, three steep clay-and-gravel shorelines, rock- and boulder-laden secondary points, a submerged asphalt roadbed, a riprap-covered secondary shoreline that is about 50 yards long, and the areas around two large concrete boat ramps. We fished in water as shallow as two feet and as deep as 15 feet, and most of these locales were fruitless.

In the backend of the first feeder-creek arm, we caught two spotted bass and one largemouth bass. The two spotted bass and the largemouth bass were caught in less than five feet of water from the edges of the asphalt roadbed. They were tempted by the shortened pearl Baby Goat combo and steady swimming presentations that we made at 30- to 45-degree angles to the roadbed. We failed to elicit any strikes around the 50-yard stretch of riprap shoreline, several minor rocky secondary points, two clay-and-gravel secondary shorelines, and a mud flat in the midsection and lower end of this creek arm.

Inside another feeder-creek arm, which is located about a mile east of the first one, we probed a medium-sized flat that is composed of red clay and gravel, three rocky shorelines, and four rocky secondary points in the midsection of the creek arm, and we failed to garner any strikes from this feeder-creek arm.

The other feeder-creek arm, which is situated about a mile west of the other two creek arms, relinquished one largemouth bass and two spotted bass. The largemouth bass was caught in less than five feet of water from the shaded west side of an island located at the mouth of this creek arm. This island’s submerged terrain is flat and consists mostly of clay and gravel. There are a few patches of flooded stickups and the remnants of a concrete building foundation decorating portions of its south shoreline. This largemouth bass was relating to the end of a minor clay and gravel point, and it was caught on a steady swimming retrieve with the pearl Baby Goat rig. The two spotted bass were caught in three to five feet of water from the sides of two rocky secondary points in the midsection of the creek arm. One of them engulfed the pearl Baby Goat combo on the initial fall, and the other one engulfed the pearl Baby Goat rig as it was swimming past a shallow patch of boulders.

One of the two bridge embankments was unproductive. The other one surrendered one largemouth bass and two spotted bass. These three black bass were caught in four to eight feet of water and 10 to 15 feet from the water’s edge on a slow swim-and-constant-shake presentation with a Z-Man’s pearl Finesse ShadZ matched with a 1/16-ounce chartreuse Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead.

We finished the outing at a dam, which is 32,328 feet long and 130 feet high. We fished about 20 percent of the riprap shoreline and around a large concrete water outlet tower. The riprap on the dam yielded one largemouth bass that was abiding in nine feet of water and about 20 feet out from the water’s edge. It was attracted to a shortened  2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pearl TRD TicklerZ fastened on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead and a slow swim-and-constant-shake presentation.

We caught seven largemouth bass and one large black crappie from the perimeter of the water outlet tower. This tower is encircled by 25 feet of water, and these eight fish were suspended about five to eight feet below the surface of the water near the tower’s west and north  walls. Six of the seven largemouth bass and the large crappie were coaxed into striking the pearl Finesse ShadZ combo that was employed with a slow swim-and-constant-shake retrieve. The other largemouth bass preferred the shortened 2 1/2-inch pearl TRD TicklerZ rig with a slow swim-and-constant-shake presentation.

In conclusion, we caught 27 fish in six hours. Twenty-five of them were black bass, which consisted of 17 largemouth bass and eight spotted bass. We also caught one white bass and one large black crappie.

Most of these black bass were keeper-size, and the largest one was a largemouth bass that weighed five pounds and two ounces. 

Sept. 11

Nick Robertson of Overland Park, Kansas, posted a brief log on the Finesse News Network about his outing on Sept. 11 at a community lake in northeastern Kansas. This reservoir was constructed in the 1950s, and it became a community reservoir and park in 2017.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 68 degrees, and the afternoon's high temperature was 88 degrees. The wind was calm during the first six hours of Sept. 11; then it angled out of the south and southeast at around 3 to 14 mph. The barometric pressure was 30.13 at 12:55 a.m., 30.15 at 5:53 a.m., 30.17 at 11:53 a.m., and 30.12 at 3:53 p.m.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best bass fishing would occur from 1:43 a.m. to 3:43 a.m., 2:11 p.m. to 4:11 p.m., and 7:57 a.m. to 9:57 a.m.

I fished in a float tube or “belly boat” from 12:37 p.m. to 3:37 p.m.

The water exhibited about 3 1/2 to four feet of clarity. I was unable to take the water’s temperature, but it was chilly enough to startle me when I launched my float tube without waders; however, I got comfortable after I got moving.

The underwater terrain consisted of gravel, rocks, and boulders.  Wads of filamentous algae clutter much of this terrain. Some spots are adorned with coontail. The west and northeast shorelines are endowed with lily pads. The east shoreline possesses a few laydowns and overhanging trees. Emergent vegetation lines the water’s edge along the south shoreline.

Starting from the boat ramp, I spent three hours fishing this reservoir’s entire shoreline.

The east shoreline, which is a rock-laden flat, yielded most of the largemouth bass. The northeast corner of the reservoir possesses a mix of rock, laydowns, and patches of dying lily pads, and a few of my larger fish were found there. I employed a slightly faster retrieve than I normally use along these areas.

The riprap shoreline of the dam was unfruitful until I reached its west end, where I caught several largemouth bass about 15 feet from the water’s edge and in slightly deeper water.  I spent too much time, however, dissecting this deep-water area.

The west shoreline, which is endowed with patches of dying lily pads, was fruitless.  I failed to catch another largemouth bass until I arrived at the rock-laden area along the south and southeast shorelines. Here, the underwater terrain was embellished with patches of coontail. The water’s edge was graced with emergent vegetation.

In sum, I caught 30 largemouth bass:  11 between 12:37 p.m. and 1:37 p.m., 7 between 1:37 p.m. and 2:37 p.m., and 12 between 2:37 p.m. and 3:37 p.m.

Most of the fish were caught in shallow and open-water areas, wherever there was rock. The most productive areas were near vegetation. All the fish were caught with either a do-nothing retrieve or a swim-glide-and-shake presentation.

I fished one lure for these three hours: a Z-Man’s The Deal TRD BugZ rigged on an unpainted 1/15-ounce  mushroom-style jighead.

The dorsal section of The Deal TRD BugZ is at the top of this photograph. The ventral section is at the bottom of the photograph.

One day after I returned from a fishing trip to the boundary waters of Minnesota, where I caught an average of less than one fish per hour, I was looking forward to fishing in my belly boat again at a flatland reservoir in northeastern Kansas, and it did not disappoint. I caught an average of 10 largemouth bass per hour and enjoyed what appears to be the beginning of fall.

Sept. 12

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his Sept. 12 outing at a federal reservoir in north-central Texas.

Todd Judy of Denton and I sojourned to a popular federal hill-land reservoir in north-central Texas. When we arrived at the boat ramp parking lot at 6:42 a.m., we were surprised to see how many boats and tow vehicles were lined up to launch their boats. We later learned that a high school team bass tournament was being held at this reservoir on Sept. 13, and Sept. 12 was a practice day for the tournament teams.

The fishing forecast was poor according to In-Fisherman's Solunar calendar. The prime fishing periods would most likely occur from 2:56 a.m. to 4:56 a.m., 9:11 a.m. to 11:11 a.m., and 3:26 p.m. to 5:26 p.m.

The morning’s low temperature was 74 degrees. The afternoon’s high temperature soared to 98 degrees. Fortunately, it has not been as humid as it was in August. The wind quartered out of the south-by-southwest at 5 to 12 mph. The barometric pressure measured 30.10 at 7:00 a.m. and 30.09 at noon. The sky was cloudless.

This reservoir’s water level was a foot low. Depending on where we fished, the water exhibited between 18 and 30 inches of clarity. The surface temperature ranged from 78 to 80 degrees.

This reservoir’s underwater terrain consists primarily of red clay, pea gravel, chunky rocks, and quite a number of large boulders. There are some burgeoning patches of Eurasian milfoil and hydrilla scattered about in several of this reservoir’s feeder-creek arms. In the upper end of the reservoir, there are acres and acres of thick stands of flooded timber, laydowns, stumps, brush piles, and buck brush, and we rarely venture into this part of the reservoir.

We were afloat from 7:06 a.m. to 12:06 p.m. We caught 27 black bass; 17 were largemouth bass and 10 were spotted bass, which is what we consider an above-average outing. We also caught one white bass and a 3 1/2-foot spotted gar by accident.

Our primary mission for this outing was to check the status of the fall migration of black bass and threadfin shad from their main-lake haunts into the feeder-creek arms. We investigated several main-lake points and their adjoining shorelines, and the interiors of two feeder-creek arms at the lower end of the reservoir. One creek arm is situated in the reservoir’s east tributary arm, and the second one is in the west tributary. And while we were traveling to those locations, we stopped and fished at three main-lake rock-bluff points and small stretches of their adjoining shorelines in the lower region of the east tributary arm, a portion of a dam, and along two main-lake shorelines and their adjacent points in the lower end of the west tributary arm.

We caught two largemouth bass in 10 to 12 feet of water from two of the three main-lake bluff points, and one spotted bass in three feet of water from a rocky shoreline next to one of the bluff points. We failed to elicit any strikes from the other bluff point.

We fished a portion of the dam, which is 14,980 feet long and 141 feet high, and is carpeted with riprap. We probed the riprap on the east end of the dam, which was the only area not occupied by other boat anglers, and we failed to locate any largemouth or spotted bass.  

The first creek arm, which is the largest of the two and situated in the lower end of the east tributary arm, yielded a combination of 18 largemouth and spotted bass.

Eight largemouth bass and spotted bass were caught around the perimeter of an island located in the lower end of the creek arm.  There are several large submerged beds of Eurasian milfoil on the east and south sides of the island in three to five feet of water. Besides these patches of Eurasian milfoil, this island’s submerged terrain is flat and comprised of red clay, small gravel, flat rocks, numerous sandstone boulders, and a couple of medium-size laydowns. These spotted bass and largemouth bass were scattered around the perimeter of the island in three to seven feet of water. Several of them were relating to the submerged patches of Eurasian milfoil, and the others were associated with clusters of sandstone boulders and rocks.

The other 10 largemouth and spotted bass were scattered across the midsection of this creek arm. They were abiding in three to five feet of water along three rocky secondary shorelines with flat terrains and garnished with small patches of Eurasian milfoil and hydrilla. We failed to find any black bass around submerged patches of milfoil and hydrilla in the back end of this creek arm and around seven rocky secondary points in this creek arm.

The second feeder-creek arm, which is in the lower region of the west tributary arm, relinquished three largemouth bass. They were caught from the east side of the creek arm near patches of large rocks in three to five feet of water on two flat secondary shorelines in the middle section of the creek arm. We also probed four rocky secondary points with flat terrains, and they were devoid of catchable black bass.

The last two largemouth bass and one spotted bass were caught in less than five feet of water and within 10 feet of the water’s edge from two main-lake shorelines; one shoreline is located in the lower end of the west tributary arm, and the other one is situated in the lower end of the east tributary. These two shorelines have flat terrains that consist of small gravel and flat rocks, and one of them has a 30-yard stretch of riprap.

In total, 15 of these 27 black bass were allured by a moderate-paced swimming retrieve with a slightly shortened Z-Man’s pearl Baby Goat matched with a chartreuse 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. Seven were tempted by a slow swim-and-constant-shake presentation with a Z-Man’s pearl Finesse ShadZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. The other five were enticed by a moderate-paced swimming retrieve with a three-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ rigged on a red 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead.

In conclusion, we caught 21 of these 27 black bass inside the two feeder-creek arms, where there was an abundance of threadfin shad. The other six black bass were caught from main-lake locales near schools of threadfin shad. In our eyes, it appears that the black bass and threadfin shad fall migration has begun.  

Sept. 16

Ned and Patty Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about their brief outing at an 85-year-old community reservoir in northeastern Kansas on Sept. 16.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 62 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 91 degrees. The wind was calm at times, and when it stirred, it angled out of the east, southeast, and south at 3 to 8 mph.   The conditions of the sky ranged from foggy and misty to fair to cluttered with a few clouds. The barometric pressure was 30.09 at 12:52 a.m., 30.14 at 5:52 a.m., 30.16 at 11:52 a.m., and 30.06 at 4:52 p.m.

The water level looked to be about two feet below normal. The water exhibited one to 3 1/2 feet of clarity. The surface temperature ranged from 82 to 83 degrees. We were the only anglers afloat on this traditionally heavily fished reservoir; we have witnessed the demise of fishing pressure at many of the community and state reservoirs in northeastern Kansas throughout 2025.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 6:50 a.m. to 8:50 a.m., 7:19 p.m. to 9:19 p.m., and 12:36 a.m. to 2:36 a.m.

This was one of our traditional conjugal and geriatric outings, and it was a 66-minute piscatorial affair in pursuit of largemouth bass and moments of peace from the clutter and noise of the everyday world. We made our first casts at 3:07 p.m. and our last ones at 4:13 p.m. All of the casts were made along portions of two shorelines and across a small section of a shallow-water flat inside the back half of a feeder-creek arm in the lower half of this reservoir. Each shoreline is slightly more than 900 yards long, and we fished along about 250 yards of each of the two shorelines.

We caught six largemouth bass along about a 250-yard stretch of the shoreline along the north side of this feeder-creek arm. It possesses a 25- to 45-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are enhanced with some stumps, a few submerged manmade piles of tree limbs, and several patches of Eurasian milfoil. Silt covers some of the underwater terrain of the shallow-water flat. The water’s edge is endowed with patches of shallow-water American water willows, a few laydowns, two docks, a tad of riprap, and one overhanging tree.

One of the six largemouth bass was caught on a shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse WormZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. It was caught on the initial drop in about three feet of water and a few feet from the outside edge of a patch of American water willows.  Two of the six were caught on a Z-Man’s hot-snakes TRD Finesse TRD attached to a red 1/20-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead; one was caught on a slow swim-and-pause presentation around some patches of submerged Eurasian milfoil in about four to five feet of water; the other one was caught on the initial drop in about three feet of water. Three of the six were caught on a three-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead with a slow swim-and-pause presentation in three to six feet of water around a few meager patches of Eurasian milfoil and a few pelagic gizzard shad.

We caught one largemouth bass on the shallow-water flat as we were crossing it in order to fish along portions of about a 300-yard stretch of this feeder-creek arm’s south shoreline. It was caught on the initial drop of the pearl Slim SwimZ rig in about four feet of water around an underwater terrain of silt and some meager patches of Eurasian milfoil. Small schools of gizzard shad were cruising around this flat.

We caught seven largemouth bass along the south shoreline. It has a 25- to 40-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, sand, and silt, which are enhanced with some submerged and partially submerged piles of tree limbs and a few patches of Eurasian milfoil. The water’s edge is endowed with shallow-water patches of American water willows, a few laydowns, three tertiary points, and an array of overhanging trees and terrestrial vegetation.

One of the seven largemouth bass was caught on the initial drop of the Junebug Finesse WormZ rig under a large overhanging tree in about 3 1/2 feet of water. Two were caught on the pearl Slim SwimZ rig with a swimming presentation in three to four feet of water. Four were caught on the hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig; one was caught on the initial drop in about three feet of water on a tertiary point and around some piles of rocks and patches of Eurasian milfoil; another one was caught on the initial drop around a pile of rocks and a small pile of submerged tree limbs; two largemouth bass were caught on a slow swimming presentation shortly after the initial drop in about three to four feet of water near some piles of tree limbs, bits and pieces of Eurasian milfoil, and piles of rocks at one of the tertiary points.

The Junebug Finesse WormZ rig is at the top of this photograph. The pearl Slim SwimZ rig is in the middle. The hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig is at the bottom.

In sum, two of the 14 largemouth bass were caught on the shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse WormZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. Six were caught on the Z-Man’s hot-snakes TRD Finesse TRD attached to a red 1/20-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. Another six were caught on the three-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. Besides the 14 largemouth bass, we accidentally caught one bluegill and two white crappie. Our hourly catch rate of largemouth bass was almost 14.

Sept. 17

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his two-hour and 57-minute outing at an 85-year-old community reservoir in northeastern Kansas on Sept. 17. It is the same reservoir Pat and Ned Kehde fished on Sept. 16 for 66 minutes.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 60 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 84 degrees. The wind was calm and variable at times, and when it stirred, it angled out of the east, southeast, northwest, and west at 3 to 12 mph.   The conditions of the sky ranged from foggy and misty to fair to cluttered with a few clouds to overcast. (It sprinkled on me occasionally.) The barometric pressure was 30.08 at 12:52 a.m., 30.04 at 5:52 a.m., 30.08 at 11:52 a.m., and 30.02 at 3:52 p.m.

The water level appeared to be about two feet below normal; consequently, most of the patches of American water willows that decorate many of the shorelines were either in very shallow water or even out of the water. The water exhibited one to 3 1/2 feet of clarity. The surface temperature was 79 degrees. For the second day in a row, I was  the only angler afloat on this traditionally heavily fished reservoir.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 7:40 a.m. to 9:40 a.m., 8:07 p.m. to 10:07 p.m., and 1:27 a.m. to 3:27 a.m.

I made my first cast at 11:59 a.m., and the last one was made when I caught largemouth bass number 30 at 2:56 p.m.

One of the 30 largemouth bass was caught on a slightly shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse WormZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. Two were caught on a three-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. A Z-Man’s hot-snakes TRD Finesse TRD attached to a red 1/20-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead inveigled 27 largemouth bass; it also allured a bluegill, a green sunfish, and provoked several dozen meager strikes that I failed to hook.

Around a main-lake point at the mouth of a small feeder-creek arm in the lower half of the reservoir, I caught two largemouth bass on my first two casts of this two-hour and 57-minute outing, and I caught another largemouth bass on my fifth cast. The underwater terrain of this point consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. It has a 35-degree slope, and it eventually plummets into a submerged creek channel.  The water’s edge is featureless. The largemouth bass were caught as I employed a hop-and-bounce presentation with the hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig in five to eight feet of water in the vicinity of a deep-water ledge.

I fished portions of the two secondary shorelines inside this small feeder-creek arm and failed to tangle with a largemouth bass.

Along about a 200-yard section of the main-lake shoreline adjacent to the main-lake point, I caught five largemouth bass. This shoreline has a 25- to 50-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, and some of it is enhanced with patches of Eurasian milfoil. A large flat section of this shoreline is endowed with an array of gigantic boulders. The water’s edge is enhanced with many shallow-water patches of American water willows, a few laydowns, and several overhanging trees. Two of the five largemouth bass were caught on the initial drop of the hot-snakes TRD Finesse TRD near the outside edges of the American water willows in about two feet of water. Three were allured as I employed a slow swim-and-pause presentation in about five to six feet of water.

Around a small main-lake point at the mouth of a tiny feeder-creek arm, I caught one largemouth bass.  This point has a 30-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and a few boulders, which are coated with a few shoots of Eurasian milfoil. The water’s edge is lined with patches of American water willows. The initial drop of the hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig allured the largemouth bass in about two feet of water near the outside edge of a patch of American water willows.

The shorelines inside this tiny feeder-creek arm and its other main-lake point were fruitless.

Inside one of this reservoir’s primary feeder-creek arms, I caught three largemouth bass along about a 175-yard stretch of one of its secondary shorelines, and around one of this shoreline’s secondary points, I caught one largemouth bass. This area has a 30- to 45-degree slope. The underwater terrains consist of gravel, rocks, and boulders. Several of the boulders are humongous. This terrain is occasionally decorated with patches of Eurasian milfoil. The water’s edge is adorned with patches of American water willows, some cattails, several laydowns, and several overhanging trees. The four largemouth bass were inveigled on the hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig with a slow swim-and-pause presentation in five to eight feet of water.

Along about a 150-yard stretch of one of the secondary shorelines inside this reservoir’s other primary feeder-creek arm, I failed to tangle with a largemouth bass.

I caught five largemouth bass along a 250-yard stretch of one of the secondary shorelines inside a large feeder-creek arm, which is located immediately adjacent to this reservoir’s dam. It has a 25- to 40-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, sand, and silt. In addition to occasional patches of Eurasian milfoil, this terrain is enhanced with some submerged and partially submerged piles of tree limbs. The water’s edge is endowed with shallow-water patches of American water willows, a few laydowns, three tertiary points, and an array of overhanging trees and terrestrial vegetation. Many small schools of gizzard shad were pelagically cruising around this area. One of the five largemouth bass was caught on the Junebug Finesse WormZ rig with a swim-glide-and-shake presentation around a patch of Eurasian milfoil in about five feet of water and many feet from the water’s edge. One largemouth bass was caught on the initial drop of the pearl Slim SwimZ rig along one of the tertiary points in about three to four feet of water around some bits and pieces of Eurasian milfoil and piles of rocks. The hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig allured three of the five largemouth bass as I was employing a swim-glide-and-subtle-shake presentation in four to six feet of water in the vicinity of some scanty patches of Eurasian milfoil and many feet from the water’s edge.

Along about a 400-yard stretch of the other secondary shoreline inside this large feeder-creek arm, I caught nine largemouth bass. This shoreline possesses a 25- to 45-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are enhanced with some stumps, a few submerged manmade piles of tree limbs, and several patches of Eurasian milfoil. Silt covers some of the underwater terrain of the shallow-water flat. The water’s edge is endowed with patches of shallow-water American water willows, a few laydowns, two docks, a tad of riprap, and two overhanging trees. One was caught on the Slim SwimZ rig with a swim-and-subtle-pause presentation around meager patches of Eurasian milfoil in about four feet of water. One largemouth bass was caught on the initial drop of the hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig in six to seven feet of water adjacent to the side of one of the docks. The initial drop of the hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig caught three largemouth bass; one was caught next to a pile of tree limbs in about three feet of water; one was caught under an overhanging tree in about three feet of water; one was caught along the outside edge of a patch of American water willows in about three feet of water. Three largemouth bass were caught on a drag-and-shake presentation with the hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig in six to seven feet of water between the two docks and many feet from the water’s edge.

I spent the final minutes of this outing along the dam, which yielded largemouth bass numbers 28, 29, and 30. It is 480 yards long and 45 feet high. It has a 50-to 60-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gigantic boulders, and some of them have disintegrated into gravel and rocks. There are a few meager patches of Eurasian milfoil. The water’s edge is lined with many shallow-water patches of American water willows, and some of them are completely out of the water. It is also endowed with a water outlet tower on a riprap jetty, a few piles of submerged tree limbs, and some manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees. I quickly fished about 125 yards of the dam by casting and strolling with the hot-snake Finesse TRD, and as I strolled, I employed a drag-and-subtle-shake presentation. One of the largemouth bass was caught on the initial drop of the rig; the other two were caught in about seven to eight feet of water and about 10 to 12 feet from the water’s edge.

In sum, I caught an average of 10 largemouth bass an hour.

Sept. 19

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his outing at a 93-year-old state reservoir in northeastern Kansas on Sept. 19 with Ricky Hebenstreit of Shawnee, Kansas, and Haley Hebenstreit of Asheville, North Carolina.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 58 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 83 degrees. The wind fluctuated from calm to variable to angling out of the northwest and west at 3 to 9 mph.   The conditions of the sky ranged from foggy for seven early morning hours to misty to fair. The barometric pressure was 30.01 at 12:52 a.m., 30.00 at 5:52 a.m., 30.06 at 11:52 a.m., and 30.03 at 1:52 p.m.

The water level looked to be about 1 ½ feet above normal. The water exhibited more than 10 feet of clarity, which is the delightful byproduct of the zebra mussels.  The surface temperature ranged from 77 to 78 degrees. In this reservoir’s almost crystal-clear water, its patches of brittle naiad and coontail are thriving and providing anglers with countless offshore areas to explore and dissect.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 9:04 a.m. to 11:04 a.m., 9:27 p.m. to 11:27 p.m., and 2:53 a.m. to 4:53 a.m.

We made our first casts at 9:58 a.m., and Ricky caught a largemouth bass on his first cast. We made our last casts at 1:58 p.m., and each of us caught a largemouth bass on our last casts. At the end of this four-hour outing, our fish calculator showed that we had tangled with 107 largemouth bass, one smallmouth bass, one redear sunfish, one bluegill, one crappie, and five green sunfish. We also elicited a goodly number of strikes that we failed to hook.

This was Haley’s first Midwest finesse outing. What’s more, she had not fished since she was six years old, which was 26 years ago. It was also the first time she had used a spinning rod and reel. Despite this initial handicap, she caught on quickly and tangled with a fair share of the 107 largemouth bass.

One of the 107 largemouth bass was caught on a Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse TRD affixed to a chartreuse 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig. A slightly shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s watermelon-red-flake Finesse WormZ affixed to a red 1/15-ounce mushroom-style jig caught one largemouth bass. Two of the 107 largemouth bass were allured by a 4.75-inch Z-Man’s purple-haze Finesse WormZ affixed to a red 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig.  The other 112 fish were caught on either a Z-Man’s hot-snakes Finesse TRD or a Z-Man’s hot-snakes TRD TicklerZ. Since Sept. 4, Z-Man’s hot-snakes hue has been our most effective hue in our northeastern Kansas community and state reservoirs. The color of the jighead was not a factor today; we caught an equal number on either a black or a red one. We also caught an equal number on a 1/20-ounce, 1/15-ounce, and 1/16-ounce jighead; a few were also caught on a 3/32-ounce jighead, which Haley used when she was learning how to make long and accurate casts.

At the mouth of one of this reservoir’s two primary feeder-creek arms, we caught four largemouth bass around the main-lake point and along about a 75-yard stretch of its main-lake shoreline. This area has a 40- to 45-degree slope.  Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. This terrain is also enhanced with a stone and concrete foundation of a barn and house. Submerged patches of brittle naiad and coontail coat portions of the underwater terrain. The water’s edge is garnished with thick patches of American water willows, which are intertwined with brittle naiad, an occasional laydown, and a few piles of tree limbs. One of the four largemouth bass was caught on the Junebug Finesse TRD rig with a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in five to seven feet of water. Our hot-snakes rigs caught the other three; one was caught on the initial drop in about three feet of water; two were caught on a drag-and-pause presentation in six to eight feet of water.

Inside this second primary feeder-creek arm, we fished about 900 yards of one of its secondary shorelines and around this shoreline’s secondary and tertiary points. The slope of this vast area ranges from about 25 to 55 degrees. 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 coated with patches of brittle naiad and coontail, as well as several manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees. The water’s edge is often lined with thick patches of American water willows, some overhanging trees, and several well-aged laydowns. This shoreline and its points yielded 29 largemouth bass. All of them were allured by our hot-snakes rigs. They were caught on a variety of presentations, such as the initial drop, deadstick, swimming, swim-glide-and-shake, and drag-and-shake.  They were caught in water as shallow as 2 ½ feet and as deep as nine feet. Most of them were caught around the patches of brittle naiad and coontail; a few were abiding around rocks and boulders.

In the back of this primary feeder-creek arm, we fished across a portion of a massive shallow-water flat. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, and silt.  It is about the size of five football fields, and about a third of it is covered with American lotus plants; some portions of the underwater terrain are endowed with patches of brittle naiad and coontail. Manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees embellish some of the underwater terrain. Two submerged creek channels, which are somewhat silt-laden, crisscross this flat. It was a struggle to tangle with one largemouth bass, which was allured by the initial drop of the Z-Man’s hot-snakes TRD TicklerZ rig around a patch of coontail in about seven feet of water. We failed to elicit another strike on this flat.

Along about an 800-yard stretch of another secondary shoreline and around two secondary points inside this primary feeder-creek arm, we caught one smallmouth bass and 22 largemouth bass. The underwater terrain of the points and shoreline consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are regularly adorned with some patches of brittle naiad and coontail. Some of the boulders are humongous. The water’s edge is often enhanced with patches of American water willows, many overhanging trees, and a few laydowns. Patches of brittle naiad and coontail are entwined with the outside edges of some of the American water willows.  The slope of this shoreline and its points range from 25 to 50 degrees. One of the 22 largemouth bass was caught on the watermelon-red-flake Finesse WormZ rig. The smallmouth bass and 21 largemouth bass were caught on our hot-snake rigs. Again, we caught them on a variety of retrieves and in water as shallow as two to three feet and as deep as six to eight feet.

Around this primary feeder creek’s other main-lake point and along about a 250-yard stretch of a main-lake shoreline that lies between this main-lake point and the dam and its spillway, we caught five largemouth bass. This shoreline possesses a 45- to 85-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. Some of the boulders are quite large. This terrain is occasionally carpeted with patches of brittle naiad and coontail.  Most of the water’s edge is lined with thick patches of American water willows and a couple of well-worn laydowns. Portions of the outside edges of the American water willows are entwined with brittle naiad. Our hot-snakes allured the five largemouth bass: two were caught on the initial drop; one was caught on a deadstick presentation; three were caught on a drag-and-pause presentation. They were caught in water as shallow as three feet and as deep as seven to nine feet.

The spillway was unfruitful. We also failed to catch a largemouth bass along the 75-yard stretch of the riprap shoreline of the dam that we fished.

We fished along about a 400-yard section of the other main-lake shoreline that is adjacent to the dam. This shoreline possesses a 25- to 45-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. The flatter and shallower sections of this shoreline are enhanced with thick patches of brittle naiad and coontail.  The water’s edge is lined with some patches of American water willows, an array of overhanging trees, and four riprap jetties. Portions of the outside edges of the American water willows are entwined with brittle naiad. This shoreline yielded eight largemouth bass. Three were caught around two of the four riprap jetties. The others were caught near the outside edges of the American water willows and amongst the patches of brittle naiad. Two were caught on the purple-haze Finesse WormZ rig with a swim-glide-and-shake presentation. Six were inveigled by our hot-snakes rigs; one was caught on the initial drop; the other five were caught on either a swimming presentation or a swim-glide-and-shake presentation.

We caught three largemouth bass around a main-lake point at the mouths of a small feeder-creek arm and one of this reservoir’s other primary feeder-creek arms. This point has a 35- to 40-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are adorned with patches of brittle naiad and coontail, as well as a few manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees. The water’s edge is embellished with thick patches of American water willows, and the outside edges of these patches are entwined with patches of brittle naiad. Our hot-snakes rigs allured these three largemouth bass; one was enticed by the initial drop in about three feet of water; two were caught on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation in four to six feet of water around patches of brittle naiad and coontail.

Along about a 200-yard section of the secondary shoreline immediately adjacent to this main-lake point, we caught five largemouth bass. It possesses a 30- to 45-degree slope.  Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are coated with many patches of brittle naiad and coontail. The water’s edge is graced with many overhanging trees, patches of American water willows, and a few laydowns. These largemouth bass were caught on our hot-snakes rigs on either the initial drop or a swimming presentation around and along edges of patches of brittle naiad and coontail.

During the last 50 minutes of this four-hour outing, we fished around and across the massive flat in the back of this reservoir’s primary feeder-creek arm. It is the size of many football fields. This area is endowed with four submerged creek channels, a small island, several humps, and a few minor ledges. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, and silt. Portions of the submerged creek channels are silt-laden. Brittle naiad, coontail, and many manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees adorn the underwater terrains.  As we quickly fished around an area about the size of three football fields, we caught 30 largemouth bass on our hot-snakes rigs. Two were caught with a deadstick presentation. The other 28 were caught as we employed either a slow swimming presentation or a swim-glide-and-shake presentation, which allowed our rigs to polish the tops of the submerged patches of brittle naiad and coontail and submerged piles of eastern red cedar trees. We caught the 28 largemouth bass in water as shallow as about three feet and as deep as eight feet.

Haley Hebenstreit with one of the many largemouth bass she caught on a Z-Man’s hot-snakes TRD TicklerZ rig. 

We caught an average of 27 black bass an hour, which was too many black bass for us to compose a precise and detailed log, explaining  exactly how and where we caught them.  In short, it was a wonderful way to introduce Hayle to Midwest finesse fishing.

Sept. 19

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his Sept. 19 outing with Norman Brown of Lewisville, Texas at a state reservoir in north-central Texas.

We were surprised to find the boat ramp parking lot was full of tow vehicles with boat trailers when we arrived, and more vehicles towing boats pulled in behind us. We spoke with a couple of boat anglers later in the day, and they informed us that Sept. 19 was a practice day for a bass tournament that was being held here on Sept. 20.  And throughout this outing, we fished around and behind numerous tournament anglers at many of the locations we fished.  

The last time we fished at this reservoir was on Sept. 5, when we caught a mixed bag of 40 largemouth and spotted bass in five hours.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar forecasted poor fishing on Sept. 19. It also noted that the most lucrative fishing would occur between 3:07 a.m. and 5:07 a.m., 9:19 a.m. and 11:19 a.m., and 9:41 p.m. to 11:41 p.m.

The sky conditions on Sept. 19 varied from mostly cloudy to partly cloudy. The morning’s low temperature was 66 degrees, and the afternoon’s high peaked at 95 degrees. The wind quartered out of the north-by-northwest at 5 to 12 mph, and it was calm for the last couple of hours that we were afloat. The barometric pressure measured 29.99 at 7:00 a.m. and 30.00 at noon.      

We made our first casts at 7:30 a.m. and our last ones at 1:00 p.m. We targeted a main-lake island, 13 main-lake points, three main-lake shorelines, three rocky secondary points, nine boat houses inside a minor bay, and three concrete-debris-laden jetties. All of these places are situated along the reservoir’s east shoreline from its lower section to its upper end.

The surface temperature varied from 78 to 79 degrees. The water exhibited about three feet of visibility. The water level was 2.68 feet below its normal pool.

Around a main-lake island, which is in the lower end of the reservoir, we caught four spotted bass and one largemouth bass. This island’s submerged terrain is flat and composed mostly of large chunky rocks and boulders, patches of stickups and partially-flooded bushes, and some standing timber.

These five black bass were abiding in three to five feet of water around the outside edges of the thick patches of partially-flooded bushes and stickups that embellish the east shoreline of the island. Three of them were allured by a swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ matched with a chartreuse 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. The other two were tempted by a swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s slam-shady GrubZ rigged on a blue 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig.

Twenty-four largemouth bass and spotted bass were caught from 11 of the 13 main-lake points; the other two points were fruitless. Some of these main-lake points were steep, and others were flat. Several of the steeper points are adorned with decorative rock and concrete retaining walls with chunky rocks and boulders reinforcing the base of the walls. They also possess several covered boat houses and two concrete boat ramps. The flatter points are also graced with chunky rocks and boulders, and they have been more productive than the steeper points during the past couple of months. Nineteen of these 24 black bass were caught in less than five feet of water and were associated with the chunky rocks at the base of several concrete and rock retaining walls. Five were caught in 10 to 13 feet of water and 15 to 20 feet away from the ends of two concrete boat ramps that lie side-by-side to each other. These 24 black bass were allured by either a slow and steady swimming retrieve with the 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ rigged on a chartreuse 3/32-ounce Z-Man's OG Mushroom Jighead, a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ fastened on a blue 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead, a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s slam-shady GrubZ rigged on a blue 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig, and a slow swim-and-constant-shake presentation with a shortened 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s hot-snakes TRD TicklerZ matched with a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead.

Steve Reideler with one of the 47 black bass that he and Norman Brown caught.

The shaded areas of one of the three rock-and-boulder-laden main-lake shorelines, which is a rock bluff about 100 yards long. This bluff relinquished seven spotted, one largemouth bass, and seven green sunfish. Seven of these eight black bass, and one of the green sunfish, were caught on the shortened Z-Man’s hot-snakes TRD TicklerZ rig as it was implemented with a slow swim-and-constant-shake retrieve. The other spotted bass and six green sunfish were enticed by the 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s slam-shady GrubZ on a blue 1/10-ounce Z-Man's Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig and a steady swimming presentation. All of them were relating to the deep-water sides and in the openings between the large boulders in five to seven feet of water. We failed to elicit any strikes from two other main-lake shorelines that are flat and rocky.

We ventured into the mouth of a minor bay where we discovered several large schools of threadfin shad around some boat houses. We caught three largemouth bass around the edges of two of the nine boat houses on the north side of the bay. One of these three largemouth bass was caught from underneath a boat house in 13 feet of water with a slow swimming retrieve with the blue-jig 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s slam-shady GrubZ.  The other two largemouth bass were caught from a small school of largemouth bass that were surface-foraging on threadfin shad in front of one of the boat houses in 21 feet of water. They were caught on a swimming retrieve with the chartreuse-jig 2 1/2-inch pearl Slim SwimZ.

We caught seven largemouth and spotted bass from three jetties that are blanketed with large chunks of concrete debris and chunky rocks. One of the jetties is located in the midsection of the east shoreline, and it yielded two spotted bass and one largemouth bass. Two of these three black bass were extracted from five to nine feet of water and were induced by a slow swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch slam-shady GrubZ and chartreuse jig. The largemouth bass was caught in 13 feet of water and enticed with a slow swim-and-constant-shake presentation with a Z-Man’s pearl Finesse ShadZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce OG Mushroom Jighead. 

The other two jetties are located on the north end of the east shoreline and form the entrance to a long channel that leads to a large concrete spillway; we didn’t detect any current flowing through the channel. These jetties surrendered four largemouth bass. They were dwelling in three to seven feet of water and five to 15 feet from the submerged concrete debris. Three were allured by a swimming retrieve with the blue-jig 2 1/2-inch pearl Slim SwimZ combo, and one largemouth bass was enticed with a swimming retrieve with the 2 1/2-inch slam-shady GrubZ rig.

In conclusion, this was an outstanding outing by north-central Texas’ standards. We hooked 51 largemouth bass and spotted bass, and landed 47 of them. Twenty-nine of the 47 were largemouth bass, and 18 were spotted bass. We also caught seven green sunfish by accident.

Sept. 22

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his Sept. 22 outing with John Thomas of Denton at a federal reservoir in north-central Texas.

According to In-Fisherman's Solunar calendar, the fishing forecast was excellent. The prime fishing periods would most likely occur from 5:07 a.m. to 7:07 a.m., 5:27 p.m. to 7:27 p.m., and 11:38 p.m. to 1:38 a.m.

The first day of fall arrived in a fury. From midnight to 9:13 a.m., torrential rains pummeled north-central Texas with three to five inches of rain and blustery 40-plus mph winds, and the high winds damaged several buildings in Denton. The morning’s low temperature was 69 degrees. The afternoon’s high temperature was 96 degrees, and it became humid. The problematic winds wailed continuously out of the southwest, west, northwest, north, and northeast at 18 to 25 mph, and a few gusts reached 30-plus mph. The barometric pressure measured 29.84 at 9:00 a.m. and 29.78 at 2:00 p.m. The sky conditions varied from overcast with heavy downpours to mostly cloudy to partly cloudy to sunny.

This reservoir’s water level was 1.15 feet low. The water varied from muddy with less than a foot of visibility to dingy with about two feet of visibility. Its normal clarity is about three feet. The surface temperature ranged from 78 to 80 degrees.

The lower portion of the reservoir where we fished has an underwater terrain that consists primarily of red clay, pea-sized gravel, chunky rocks, and quite a number of large boulders. There are a few meager patches of Eurasian milfoil and stands of flooded timber scattered about in these two feeder-creek arms.

When we arrived at the boat ramp around 7:30 a.m., it was still raining cats and dogs, and the parking lot was empty. We sat in my truck and waited until the rain stopped at about 9:15 a.m., then we launched the boat inside a wind-protected feeder-creek arm in the midsection of the reservoir’s west tributary arm.

We had this reservoir to ourselves during this entire outing. We fished from around 9:30 a.m. to about 2:00 p.m. and caught 17 black bass. Ten were largemouth bass, and seven were spotted bass. We also crossed paths with two freshwater drum, a channel catfish, and one large bluegill.

The incessant blustery winds and ranks of white-capped waves in the main-lake areas forced us to seek shelter inside two feeder-creek arms in the lower end of the west tributary arm.

We caught three largemouth bass and two spotted bass in the first creek arm, and seven largemouth bass, five spotted bass, two freshwater drum, one channel catfish, and a large bluegill in the second creek arm.

Thirteen of these 17 black bass were scattered here and there in the middle and upper ends of the creek arms, and they were caught in three to five feet of water from several secondary shorelines that are flat and rocky. The other four black bass were caught near a small rock pile in three to nine feet of water at one end of a shallow rock ledge.

Six of these 17 black bass were allured by a slow swim-and-constant-shake presentation with a shortened 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pearl TRD TicklerZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. Five were caught on a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ fastened on a red 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead as it was employed with a steady swimming retrieve. Three were tempted by a slow swim-and-constant-shake presentation with a shortened 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD TicklerZ affixed on a red 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. Two black bass engulfed a Z-Man’s pearl Baby Goat fastened on a chartreuse 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead as it was manipulated with a steady swimming retrieve just under the surface of the water. And one spotted bass was enticed by a slow swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s slam-shady GrubZ matched with a chartreuse 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig.

A major cold front accompanied by more rain is forecast for the evening hours of Sept. 23, so we are hopeful that our hot and humid summertime weather is coming to an end.

Sept 23

Bob Gum of Kansas City, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his outing with Nick Robertson of Overland Park, Kansas, at one of the federal reservoirs in northeastern Kansas on Sept 23.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 66 degrees. The afternoon’s high temperature was 72 degrees. The wind angled out of the south, southeast, southwest, east, northeast, and north at 3 to 16 mph. The conditions of the sky fluctuated from rain, fog and mist, heavy rain, thunderstorm, light rain, overcast, partly cloudy, and mostly cloudy.  The barometric pressure was 29.84 at 12:52 a.m., 29.84 at 5:52 a.m., 29.93 at 11:52 a.m., and 29.90 at 3:52 p.m.

The reservoir’s surface temperature was 75 degrees. The water level was a few inches below its normal level. The inflow was 7.99 cubic feet per second, and the outflow was 29 cubic feet per second. The water exhibited about five feet of clarity. This reservoir is 51 years old.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would occur from 11:34 a.m. to 1:34 p.m., 11:55 p.m. to 1:55 a.m., and 5:44 a.m. to 7:44 a.m.

We fished from 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Fishing in the rain was a chore. Our rain gear was inadequate for the downpours. This led us to take about a 30-minute break from fishing and to relax at the marina.

My two most effective Midwest finesse rigs were a Junebug Z-Man’s TRD TicklerZ on a red 1/20-ounce mushroom-style jig and a 4.75-inch Z-Man’s PB&J Finesse WormZ on a red 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig. Nick successfully used a shortened 5.75-inch Z-Man’s bama-bug Bang StickZ on a black 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig and a Z-Man’s black/-blue TRD HogZ on a red 1/15-ounce mushroom-style jig.

We primarily employed a swim-glide-and-shake presentation with these four rigs.  Most of my fish were caught while I employed a deadstick presentation at the end of the swim-glide-and-shake presentation; therefore, most of the fish were caught many feet from the water’s edge.  Nick noted that he caught the black bass in water as shallow as three feet and near the water’s edge. And when he would cast behind the boat and allow the Midwest finesse rig to either drag or deadstick on the bottom, he would catch them in eight to 10 feet of water.

We spent seven and a half hours in the lower section of the reservoir, fishing from the dam to about three miles above the dam. We caught 73 fish, which included 39 smallmouth bass, 12 largemouth bass, 11 walleye, seven freshwater drum, three saugeye, and one spotted bass.

These fish were caught on underwater terrains that consist of gravel, rocks, boulders, and riprap.

The most fruitful area was the dam. It is 3,233 yards long and 125 feet high. We fished about 300 yards of the south end of its riprap shoreline and a short section of the main-lake shoreline immediately adjacent to the dam's riprap shoreline.

We also fished around nine main-lake points, across one offshore boulder-laden hump, along and around two large riprap jetties, over a submerged farm-pond dam, along portions of several secondary shorelines, around some secondary and tertiary points, and along several main-lake shorelines.  A few of these locales were fruitless, but most yielded some fish.

In sum, we caught slightly more than seven black bass an hour and slightly more than 10 fish an hour.

Sept. 25

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his Sept. 25 outing with Rick Hebenstreit of Shawnee, Kansas, at an 85-year-old community reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

The National Weather Service reported the morning’s low temperature was 52 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 77 degrees. The sky was fair, foggy and misty, mostly cloudy, partly cloudy, and cluttered with a few clouds.  The wind was variable and calm at times; it also angled out of the northwest and west at 3 to 9 mph. The barometric pressure was 30.05 at 12:52 a.m., 30:04 at 5:52 a.m., 30.07 at 11:52 a.m., and 30.03 at 1:52 p.m.

The water level looked to be about normal. The surface temperature ranged from 74 to 76 degrees. The water exhibited from four to more than eight feet of visibility. The patches of brittle naiad are exhibiting their late summer wilt. Wads of filamentous algae are flourishing everywhere. Duckweeds cover the water’s edges of several shorelines and many of the shallow-water wads of filamentous algae.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 1:04 a.m. to 3:04 a.m., 1:27 p.m. to 3:27 p.m., and 7:15 a.m. to 9:15 a.m.

We made our first casts at 10:00 a.m. We made the last ones when we caught largemouth number 30 at 2:00 p.m. We inadvertently caught one pumpkinseed, two bluegill, and five green sunfish, and we elicited a significant number of timid strikes that we failed to hook. And we suspected these strikes were by panfish.

Two of the 30 largemouth bass were caught on a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Tiny TicklerZ attached to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead.  Two were caught on a Z-Man’s purple-death TRD TicklerZ attached to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. Two were caught on a three-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead.  Three were caught on a shortened Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Hula StickZ attached to a red 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jighead. Four were caught on a 4.75-inch Z-Man’s PB&J Finesse WormZ affixed to a red 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jighead. A slightly shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s purple-haze Finesse WormZ rigged on either a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead or a black 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jighead inveigled 17 largemouth bass.

We began this outing by fishing the shoreline of this reservoir’s 1,550-foot dam and a short portion of one of its adjacent shorelines.  The adjacent shoreline was fruitless, and the dam yielded only one largemouth bass.

The dam has a height of 58 feet with a 45- to 50-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are occasionally coated with wads of filamentous algae and a few bits and pieces of coontail and brittle naiad. The water’s edge contains a concrete water outlet tower and many patches of American water willows.  The green-pumpkinTiny TicklerZ rig with a drag-and-pause presentation caught the largemouth bass in about eight feet of water.

This largemouth bass was caught on the Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Tiny TicklerZ rig.

Along a boulder-laden ledge and at the top of a boulder-laden hump, which enhances a main-lake point in the lower quarter of this reservoir, we caught two largemouth bass. One was caught on the initial drop of the green-pumpkin Hula StickZ rig around some gigantic boulders in about four feet of water. One was caught along the ledge, adjacent to a boat dock, and around some patches of submerged aquatic vegetation on the Hula StickZ rig with a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in about five feet of water.

Along portions of two secondary shorelines inside a small feeder-creek arm in the lower half of this reservoir, we caught three largemouth bass. The shorelines have a 25- to 35-degree slope.  The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are occasionally coated with coontail, wilting brittle naiad, and filamentous algae. The water’s edges are lined with 13 boat docks.  One of the three largemouth bass was caught on the purple-death TRD TicklerZ with a slow swim-and-pause presentation in about six feet of water in the vicinity of submerged patches of aquatic vegetation and many feet from the water’s edge. Two of the largemouth bass were caught on the purple-haze Finesse WormZ rig; one was caught on the initial drop adjacent to a massive wad of filamentous algae in about three feet of water; the other one was caught on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in about six feet of water in the vicinity of submerged patches of aquatic vegetation and many feet from the water’s edge.

We caught two largemouth bass around a main-lake point in the lower half of the reservoir. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, and a significant ledge that plummets into deep water. Wads of filamentous algae and some patches of submerged aquatic vegetation adorn parts of this point. It has a 30- to 35-degree slope. The water’s edge is adorned with a boulder retaining wall, two docks, and several patches of American water willows.  The purple-haze Finesse WormZ rig inveigled the largemouth bass; one was caught on the initial drop near a patch of American water willows in about three feet of water; the second largemouth bass was caught on a slow swim-and-pause presentation in the vicinity of submerged patches of aquatic vegetationin about seven feet of water.

Four largemouth bass were caught along a massive shoreline in the middle portion of this reservoir.  It has a 30- to 40-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders; some of the boulders are humongous. This underwater terrain is enhanced with occasional patches of filamentous algae and unidentified specimens of submerged aquatic vegetation.  The water’s edge is lined with 20 docks, some shoddy stretches of riprap, several concrete retaining walls, several overhanging trees, and a few patches of American water willows. Our purple-haze Finesse WormZ rigs allured these largemouth bass. One was caught on the initial drop adjacent to the inside corner of one of the docks in five to six feet of water. The other three were caught on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in water as shallow as four feet and as deep as 11 feet.

We caught six largemouth bass along about a 300-yard stretch of a main-lake shoreline in the upper half of this reservoir. It has a 30- to 45-degree slope and three small main-lake points.  Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rock, and boulders. Parts of this underwater terrain are graced with wads of filamentous algae and some patches of submerged aquatic vegetation. The water’s edge is endowed with 10 docks, patches of American water willows, one overhanging walnut tree, and a few piles of tree limbs.  We spotted several largemouth bass pursuing gizzard shad on the surface many yards from the water’s edge, and we caught one of the six on the purple-death TRD TicklerZ with a swimming presentation a few feet under the surface and over 29 feet of water. (Throughout this outing, there was a pair of anglers pursuing these surface-feeding and offshore largemouth bass.) Our purple-haze Finesse WormZ rigs caught five of the six: one was caught on the initial drop (we failed to determine the depth); four were caught on either a slow swim-and-pause presentation or a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in five to nine feet of water; one was caught near the side of one of the docks; another one around one of the three points.

We spent a few minutes examining a small segment of a massive shallow-water flat and a short segment of one of its flat shorelines in the upper end of this reservoir’s primary feeder-creek arm. This area has a 25- to 30-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are covered with silt. Portions of it are enhanced with duckweeds, filamentous algae, piles of tree limbs, and patches of American water willows. We also fished around four docks. We caught one largemouth bass on the pearl Slim SwimZ rig with a swimming presentation in about 3 ½ feet of water. Two were caught on the PB&J Finesse WormZ rig with a swim-glide-and-subtle-shake presentation in four feet of water.

We struggled to catch three largemouth bass along a massive shoreline in the upper half of the reservoir. We dissected about 800 yards of this shoreline, which possesses a 25- to 60-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, and silt. Parts of this terrain are quilted with wads of filamentous algae and other kinds of submerged aquatic vegetation that we did not identify. The water’s edge consists of several concrete retaining walls, some stone retaining walls, some riprap, 10 docks, one small rock bridge, a few laydowns, several piles of brush, some patches of American water willows, a lot of duckweeds, and a few overhanging trees. One largemouth bass was caught at one of the shallow-water areas in about four feet of water around patches of submerged aquatic vegetation; it was caught on the initial drop of the pearl Slim SwimZ rig. The green-pumpkin Hula StickZ rig allured a largemouth bass around the bridge shortly after the initial drop and during a slow swim-and-pause presentation in about 3 ½ feet of water. The green-pumpkinTiny TicklerZ rig allured one of the three largemouth bass on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in about six feet of water.  

We spent the final 40 minutes of this outing in the middle section of this reservoir, where we quickly fished along two short portions of about an 800-yard stretch of a main-lake shoreline, around and over a massive hump, and a segment of an underwater ledge. It has a 25- to 45-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. These portions of this terrain are enhanced with occasional patches of filamentous algae, patches of coontail, and some unidentified specimens of submerged aquatic vegetation. The water’s edge is endowed with several concrete retaining walls, a few tertiary points, some overhanging trees, 16 docks, and a few patches of American water willows. We eked out six largemouth bass. One largemouth bass was allured by the purple-haze Finesse WormZ with a swim-glide-and-shake presentation along the ledge and around patches of coontail in about eight feet of water. The initial drop of the purple-haze Finesse WormZ inveigled two largemouth bass from patches of coontail and other kinds of submerged vegetation in about four feet of water. A slow swim-and-pause presentation allured a largemouth bass along the side of one of the docks in about seven to eight feet of water. Largemouth bass numbers 29 and 30 were caught on the PB&J Finesse WormZ rig.  Number 29 was caught around a patch of coontail in about five feet of water with a swim-glide-and-shake presentation around a tertiary point next to the massive hump. Largemouth bass number 30 was caught along the side of a large dock and a significant pile of rocks and boulders in about six feet of water on the initial drop.

In sum, it was a significant chore for us to catch an average of slightly more than seven largemouth bass an hour.

 Sept 25

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his Sept. 25 outing with Frank Gosnell of Sanger, Texas, to a scenic Civilian Conservation Corps’ hill-land reservoir in southern Oklahoma. 

Sept. 25 was a nice distraction from the heat and humidity of summer; it was 100 degrees on Sept. 24. There was bright sunshine with some low-altitude cumulus clouds hovering in the sky. The morning’s low temperature was 61 degrees, and the afternoon’s high climbed to 83 degrees. A mild northerly wind blew at 5 to 10 mph. The barometric pressure measured 30.07 at 9:00 a.m. and fell to 30.01 by 3:00 p.m.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that fishing would be poor on Sept. 25. The most productive periods were between 1:13 a.m. and 3:13 a.m., 7:25 a.m. and 9:25 a.m., and 1:13 p.m. to 3:13 p.m.

We fished from 9:10 a.m. to 3:10 p.m.

The water exhibited five to seven feet of visibility. The surface temperature ranged from 77 to 80 degrees. The water level appeared to be about a foot below its normal pool.

This reservoir’s submerged terrains consist primarily of pea-size gravel, chunky rocks, and boulders. There are some sections of various shorelines that are adorned with thick patches of American water willows, cattails, stumps, and a few thin stands of decayed standing timber.

During these six hours, we plied eight main-lake shorelines, portions of two main-lake humps, eight main-lake points, and portions of two feeder-creek arms. All of these locales are situated in the reservoir’s west tributary arm and within two miles of the boat ramp where we launched the boat.  

We set a rather challenging goal of catching 40 smallmouth bass. The fishing was pretty decent and consistent, though we found the smallmouth bass to be a bit finicky and scattered hither and yon. We covered a lot of water, and we savored catching 55 black bass; 49 were smallmouth bass, four were largemouth bass, and two were spotted bass. We also inadvertently caught two green sunfish, one five-pound and six-ounce freshwater drum, one channel catfish, and one large bluegill.

Two of the 55 black bass were caught on a three-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ, rigged on a black 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. Three were allured by a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s hot-craw ZinkerZ matched with a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. Nine were tempted by a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ rigged on a black 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. Sixteen were enticed by a slightly shortened 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD TicklerZ fastened on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead, and 25 were enraptured by a black 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ Jighead sporting a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s bloodworm GrubZ.  

Two were caught on the initial fall. Five were enticed by a swim-glide-and-shake presentation. Six were attracted to a moderately-paced swimming retrieve about two to three feet below the surface of the water, and 42 were allured with a slow swim-and-constant-shake retrieve.

They were caught in water as shallow as three feet and as deep as 13 feet while the boat floated in 15 to 32 feet of water.

The two main-lake humps yielded a total of 22 smallmouth bass and one largemouth bass. These two humps are usually covered with two to four feet of water and are cluttered with numerous boulders and large rocks. Their sides quickly drop off into 12 or more feet of water. But during this foray, one of the two humps was partially exposed with about two feet of its top above the water. 

The eight main-lake points failed to surrender a smallmouth bass, a largemouth bass, or a spotted bass. These points are flat and littered with many clusters of chunky rocks and large boulders.

Three secondary points inside one of the two feeder-creek arms yielded four smallmouth bass. These points are flat and located in the lower portion of the creek arm. They are graced with scores of chunky rocks and boulders. We failed to elicit any strikes inside the other feeder-creek arm.

Twenty-three smallmouth bass, three largemouth bass, and two spotted bass were caught near the deep-water sides of the eight main-lake shorelines. Their shallow-water areas are bedecked with chunky rocks mixed with large boulders, some standing timber, and a few stumps.

In short, the annual fall migration of black bass into the feeder-creek arms has not yet occurred at this reservoir. We caught 51 of these 55 black bass in main-lake areas, and only four were found inside the two feeder-creek arms.  

Sept. 29

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his two-hour and 23-minute outing at an 85-year-old community reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 55 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 87 degrees. The wind was calm during the first 10 hours, and when it stirred, it angled out of the south, southwest, and southeast at 6 to 13 mph.   The conditions of the sky ranged from fair to foggy and misty to fair to cluttered with a few clouds to partly cloudy. The barometric pressure was 30.12 at 12:52 a.m., 30.15 at 5:52 a.m., 30.18 at 11:52 a.m., and 30.13 at 2:52 p.m.

The water level appeared to be about two feet below normal; consequently, most of the patches of American water willows that decorate many of the shorelines were either in very shallow water or even out of the water. A significant algae bloom has erupted, which has adversely affected the clarity of the water. In some areas, there was less than a foot of visibility, and in other areas, there was about 3 ½ to four feet of clarity. The surface temperature was 78 to 79 degrees.

I was the only angler afloat on this traditionally heavily fished reservoir. Several Midwest finesse anglers say they are reluctant to fish this reservoir nowadays because the largemouth bass fishing has become problematic. It is thought that some of this reservoir’s problems revolve around too much siltation and herbicide pollution. Another problem is the lack of significant offshore patches of submerged aquatic vegetation and the lack of water around the American water willows and other kinds of emergent aquatic vegetation.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 4:55 a.m. to 6:55 a.m., 5:01 p.m. to 7:01 p.m., and 10:48 a.m. to 12:48 p.m.

I made my first cast at 11:43 a.m., and the last one was made when I caught largemouth bass number 15 at 2:06 p.m. I also caught two hefty channel catfish; one of them battled me for more than five minutes before I was able to extract the hook from its lower jaw.  What’s more, I caught a handsome redear sunfish and five green sunfish.

One of the 15 largemouth bass was caught on a Z-Man’s purple-death TRD TicklerZ attached to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. Three were caught on a Z-Man’s coppertreuse Finesse TRD affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. A Z-Man’s hot-snakes Finesse TRD on a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead inveigled 11 largemouth bass.

I fished along about a 500-yard stretch of a main-lake shoreline in the lower quarter of the reservoir. It has a 25- to 40-degree slope.  The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are occasionally carpeted with meager patches of Eurasian milfoil.  The water’s edge is decorated with a few shallow-water patches of American water willows, a few submerged and partially submerged tree limbs, one dock, and a concrete boat ramp. I struggled mightily to catch four largemouth bass. One was caught on the purple-death TRD TicklerZ rig with a swim-glide-and-subtle-shake presentation adjacent to a patch of American water willows and on a tiny patch of Eurasian milfoil in about three feet of water. Three largemouth bass were caught on the hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig; one was caught on the initial drop in about two feet of water; the second one caught on a swimming presentation around a submerged portion of a tree trunk and limbs in about three feet of water; the third one was caught on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation around a patch of Eurasian milfoil in about four to five feet of water.

Along the spillway’s main-lake shoreline, I caught three largemouth bass on the hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig. This shoreline has a 35- to 45-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and a few boulders, which are graced with a few patches of Eurasian milfoil. The water’s edge is lined with several patches of American water willows. One of the three largemouth bass was caught on the initial drop in about two feet of water along the outside edge of a patch of American water willows.  The other two were caught on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation in five to eight feet of water.

At the junction of the spillway and the beginning section of the dam, I caught one largemouth bass on the hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig with a slow swim-glide-and-subtle-shake presentation in about eight feet of water.

The dam is 480 yards long and 45 feet high. It has a 50-to 60-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gigantic boulders, and many of them have disintegrated into gravel and rocks. There are a few meager patches of Eurasian milfoil growing along the underwater terrain. The water’s edge is lined with many shallow-water patches of American water willows, and some of them are completely out of the water. It is also endowed with a water outlet tower on a riprap jetty, a few piles of submerged tree limbs, and a few offshore piles of eastern red cedar trees. I fished about a 50-yard stretch of the western end of the dam and a 60-yard stretch of its eastern end. I caught one largemouth bass along the western end on the initial drop of the hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig in front of a patch of American water willows in about 2 ½ feet of water. The eastern end yielded one largemouth bass, which was caught on the hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig with a swim-glide-and-shake presentation in about five to six feet of water.

I fished along portions of two secondary shorelines inside a large feeder-creek arm, which is located immediately adjacent to this reservoir’s dam. The portions that I fished have a 25- to 40-degree slope. The underwater terrains consist of gravel, rocks, boulders, and silt. Some of the boulders are gigantic. In addition to occasional patches of Eurasian milfoil, these terrains are enhanced with some submerged and partially submerged piles of tree limbs. The water’s edge is endowed with shallow-water patches of American water willows, a few laydowns, three tertiary points, and some overhanging trees and terrestrial vegetation.

One of the secondary shorelines yielded two largemouth bass. They were caught on the coppertreuse Finesse TRD rig; one was caught on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation in about six feet of water; the second largemouth bass was caught on the initial drop adjacent to a partially submerged tree limb in about three feet of water.

The coppertreuse Finesse TRD rig allured one largemouth bass along the other secondary shoreline inside this large feeder-creek arm. It was caught on the initial drop in front of a patch of American water willows, next to a pile of partially submerged tree limbs, and among a meager patch of Eurasian milfoil in about 3 ½ feet of water.

I caught one largemouth bass along about a 50-yard stretch of a main-lake shoreline adjacent to the mouth of the large feeder-creek arm. This shoreline has a 40- to 45-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. The water’s edge is decorated with two series of American water willow patches. This largemouth bass was caught while I was strolling with the hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig and employing a drag-and-shake presentation parallel to the patches of American water willows in about six to seven feet of water and 12 feet from the outside edge of the patches of American water willows.

I made my last cast of this sorry outing across a concrete boat ramp on a main-lake point at the mouth of a small feeder-creek arm in the lower quarter of the reservoir. The underwater terrain around this boat ramp and the main-lake point consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders; it is devoid of submerged aquatic vegetation. The water’s edge is adorned with a small patch of American water willows. I retrieved this last cast by employing a drag-and-pause presentation with the hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig in five to six feet of water, which allured largemouth bass number 15, and it was the heftiest largemouth bass of this outing.

Initially, I was hoping to catch at least 20 largemouth bass in two hours, but it was a struggle to catch 15 in two hours and 23 minutes, which is an average of slightly more than six largemouth bass per hour.

Once again, this outing revealed the adverse effects of the diminishing returns of old age. I am the same age as this 85-year-old reservoir, and my skills to find and catch largemouth bass have declined as have this reservoir’s abilities have declined to be a productive and healthy waterway for largemouth bass to inhabit.