I launched at 7:30 and fished until 5:30, very tired from fighting a sustained 15-25 mph wind all day. It stopped blowing a few times, but the calm never lasted more than a very few minutes. Water temps ranged from 62.0 to 64.9 while I was there, and the water clarity was like tap water…very clear. I spent most of my day catching small fish on bluegill-colored chatterbaits, tandem spinnerbait (chartreuse/white with gold blades) black/blue flake weightless, wacky-rigged Senko, and my old go-to bait for clear water under overcast sky:  an original #11 floating Rapala (gold, white belly, black back). Most of the fish I caught hit on the deeper weedlines or the deep water side of isolated patches of weeds while the wind was blowing its hardest. All I had to do was cast the Rapala and let it just float, letting the waves move the bait. When I twitched it, no luck. Same with the Senko. A few did hit the Rapala when I was retrieving it fast to make another cast. I ended up harvesting one crappie (Rattletrap) and 38 bass between 5"  and 14", and released 13 over 14" - but nothing over 3 pounds. The longest bass I caught was 16" long, but only weighed 2 pounds even. I saw no bedding bass and no beds. Maybe most of Kickapoo's bass spawned several weeks ago. Anyway, the lake seems to me to be in dire need of more harvesting. I still had a  good time, especially after I switched over to my ultralight rigs. No luck on Yellow Magic, Whopper Plopper, HB frog, or Ribbit frog. I did manage to bury two hooks past the barb into the same finger, but removal was easy and almost painless. After that, I used my Boga even on the little ones.

Posted By: Tom Dillon