August 2, 2015
Fishing Time: 6:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Rating: 3
Weather Conditions: Sunny with clear skies
Bait: Drop Shot with Poor Boy’s Baits Green Pumpkin Erie Darter and Quick Drop 1/4 ounce weight; Poor Boy’s Baits Golby 3.5” Tube with 1/4 ounce Bite Me Zona’s Tubehead
Rod: Megabass Orochi XX Drop Shot Rod; G-Loomis GX2 Jig-and-Worm
Reel: Shimano Sustain; Quantum Catalyst
Line: 7-pound Sunline Super Sniper FC; 8-pound Sunline Super Sniper FC
Total Bass Caught: 1
Final Weigh in Weight: 1.94 pounds
I’ve been hearing great things about the fishing in the Potholes, so I decided to head down and give it a try for myself. The weather report said that it was supposed to reach 108 degrees, so I decided to get out bright and early to beat the heat. Since the dam was so productive for me last time, I decided to start out there. I worked the rock wall with almost every crankbait in my arsenal, but I wasn’t able to manage a single bite. I think that this is in part due to the fact that the water was down 15-20 feet from the last time that I had fished and all the rocks that I usually deflect my crankbaits off of were out of the water. After this disappointment, I headed over to my favorite little channel, which is located just after the second point opposite the O’Sullivan Dam Boat Launch. The water was way down in the channel as well and most of the beaver dams that I normally fish were well above the water line. Fortunately, there was still one beaver dam that remained. I threw my crankbaits at it for a while, but came up empty, so I decided to switch over to throwing a tube. On my very first cast, I felt something pick it up, so I set the hook. I fought with the bass for a while and was just about to swing it into the boat, when it shook my hook. I got a good glimpse of it and estimate that it was a solid 2-2.5 pound largemouth bass, so I was devastated at the lost. I tried to get it to bite again, but it went quiet after that, so I was forced to go and explore the sand dunes. I had never navigated the sand dunes before, so it took me a while to get my bearings and get through the shallows. I ended up going down the main channel on the state park side. I went pretty deep into the dunes and didn’t stop until I came to a dead end, all the while fishing any beaver dams that I spotted. Unfortunately, all of these dams were empty. By the time I reached the dead end it was noon and it got really hot, so I decided to call it a day and head in. On my way out, I noticed a smaller beaver dam that I had missed on my way in. Nothing else was working, so I decided to go back to my trusty drop shot. I cast it to the middle of the dam and instantly I felt a hard knock on my line. I quickly set the hook and after a great battle that included the bass leaping into the air, I was able to land a quality largemouth bass. I measured and weighed it and it came out to be 15 inches long and 1.94 pounds. After that excitement, I headed in, happy to avoid being skunked.