Wet Weekend

Sep 24 2018

Tom Dillon

Toad

Member Since :
2014
Number of Posts :
516

I just got home from a wet weekend at Yates Place. I fished Yates Place on Saturday, September 22, with partner Dave May. The lake level was about 2 feet low, although it rained quite a bit Friday night. The storms hit right after I had quickly unloaded my gear into the cabin. By the time I got up on Saturday, my little beached pond boat was almost half full of water, so it took a while to empty it with a manual bilge pump. I couldn’t take the water temp, for I had somehow managed to sever the transducer cable to my Helix. The water was warm, though. Together, we caught around 25, with 5 harvested. All others caught (about 20 - no detailed records kept because my clipboard and log form were soaked, even inside a ZipLok bag) were between 2 and 4 pounds, except for two between 4 and 4-05. Every bass we caught was long and thin, but very strong, and fought well. We each caught one of those over 4. All fish contacted but one hit either a buzz bait with white or purple skirt or a black/blue flake Ribbit frog. The exception was a harvest fish that picked up a black/blue flake, unweighted, wacky-rigged Senko. Dave left around 2:00 to head home, and I kept fishing after he left. The rest of the day saw me boat only 4 more fish – 2 of just under 4 pounds on a purple buzz bait and two dinks on a green pumpkin/chartreuse tail Senko. The two small ones were the only fish we caught all day that were on wood cover.

Saturday night, it rained hard again, and the water was almost draining out over the transom of my beached pond boat. Again, I wore myself out with the bilge pump. The lake level had come up about a foot overnight, and visibility was about what it had been on Saturday:  about 10-12 inches. I was rather “snakebit on Sunday,” as I kept getting strikes on buzz baits and Ribbits, but either never hooked or hooked and lost them. I boated my first bass at 11:15, just under 4 pounds. About 2 hours later, I caught another about the same size. Both hit an old, purple-skirted Mister Twister Lunker Buzz II. A few (5) harvested dinks rounded out the morning. I stopped fishing at 1:30, absolutely worn out.

As always, Dewayne was the consummate host.  We probably chatted for about an hour while I was there.

Total for the weekend:  33 bass, of which 12 were harvested

Big Bass: Dave’s 4-05

What Worked:  White buzz bait, purple buzz bait, Senkos

What Didn't:  Whopper Plopper, Jointed Rapala, shallow squarebill (shad pattern), deep crankbait, Rattletraps, T-rigged worms, 7" Senkos, 9" pork eel on weedless hook, weedless spoon and pork rind, chatterbait, H&H single-spin, 7.5" Super Fluke, soft swim baits.

Sep 26 2018

Larry Maupin

Keeper

Member Since :
2012
Number of Posts :
284

Thanks for the report, Tom. I'm hoping to go there soon.

Sep 29 2018

Tom Dillon

Toad

Member Since :
2014
Number of Posts :
516

Larry, I hope you do even better than you and your wife did once before!

Sep 29 2018

Larry Maupin

Keeper

Member Since :
2012
Number of Posts :
284

Thanks, Tom! That would be awesome!