June 26, 2016
Fishing Time: 8:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Rating: 2
Weather Conditions: Sunny with clear skies
Bait: Aaron’s Magic 1/4 ounce Robowesty Worm
Rod: G-Loomis GX2 Jig and Worm
Reel: Quantum Catalyst PT
Line: 8-pound Sunline Super Sniper FC
Total Bass Caught: 2
Final Weigh in Weight: 2.84 pounds
After back to back great outings at the Potholes, I decided to make the long trek over there to see if it would continue to produce. I got there at around 8:30 a.m. and immediately headed over to the rock dam. I worked the steep drop offs around there with some crankbaits, but none of them produced so I decided to motor over to fish the canals across from the dam boat launch. I began by fishing the banks of the canal with my crankbait, but after getting no bites, I decided to switch over to my Robowesty Worm. I had read great things about Westy Worms and their ability to catch bass, so when I saw that they had partnered up with Roboworm to create the Robowesty I immediately knew I had to try one. I quickly tied my worm on and cast over to the rocky shoreline. I slowly hopped my worm back to the boat, working it over the rocks and down the drop off. I had barely started my retrieve when all of a sudden, I felt something hammer my worm. I set the hook and was able to bring in a 1.16 pound smallmouth. I was extremely impressed with the Robowesty, as the very first cast with it had produced a bass. I continued working the canal, but didn’t have any more success with the Robowesty, so I switched back to a crawfish colored crankbait. I cast over to what appeared to be a beaver dam and as soon as my lure hit the water, a giant bass jumped up and tried to grab it. I set the hook, but just missed the bass. I worked that spot for a few more minutes, but wasn’t able to get it to bite again, so I decided to leave the canal and head down to the south end of the reservoir. When I got there, I spotted an old beaver dam, so I cast my Robowesty over to it and slowly worked it back to the boat. I was just about to bring my worm up, when I saw my line take off in the opposite direction. I set the hook and after a great battle was able to bring in a solid 1.68 pound smallmouth. I then continued to work the shorelines of the south end of the reservoir and alternated between fishing my westy and a spinnerbait, but unfortunately wasn’t able to get anymore bites. At this point, the water had warmed up a whole 4 degrees, so I figured that some of the bass would have moved back to the rock dam by now. I headed back over there and once again worked the rocky shore with my crankbaits, but as with before I came up empty handed. Since the bass weren’t at the rock dam or back in the southern canals, I figured that they must have been hanging out in the sand dunes up north, so I decided to head over there and check it out. When I got to the north end of the lake, I noticed that a lot of the dunes were still underwater, which was disappointing. I fished the dunes that I could find, but they too didn’t produce for me, so I decided to just head in and call it a day.
Observations: The water temperature ranged from 67-72 degrees and the temperature heavily fluctuated as the day went on. The water level in the reservoir wasn’t ideal and it was a little too low to fish the rock dam and too high to effectively fish the dunes, which made fishing tough. The two bass I did manage to catch were hanging out in the shallows and both fought well for their size. The water in the reservoir was suffering from algae bloom and almost all of the water in the reservoir was tinted with green chunks of algae. To make matters worse, they are suffering from a bug problem over there, so everywhere you go there are swarms of bugs waiting for you. The conditions in the Potholes weren’t ideal and it could be a while before I decide to make the trek back up there.