MKFS Journals...Wanahoo

               My eyes fluttered open and I saw clouds. Clouds illuminated by the pale light of the coming sunrise. I didn't know where I was or why. I turned my head to the right and left and saw a tent stake on one side and a truck tire on the other. I could smell the wisps of smoke from the previous night's campfire. I pieced it together, I was at Wanahoo Lake to fish the Midwest Kayak Fishing Series' Live Event tournament. I had been planning to sleep in the tent with my brothers but they had complained about my oversized sleep mat and refused to let me in. Now, I was laying covered in dew and smelling of campfire. When I wake up in that type of situation it is usually the start of a good day.
         I shook off the salt of lapping delta waves and slowly began collecting my gear and myself. The sun crept over the horizon and set the lake on fire. The forest of dead trees in the middle of the lake looked haunting backlit by the red sunrise. It took little time to paddle to the bay where we would all launch. A small navy of vessels floated quietly in the bay. When it was time to fish, the playful chatter among the kayak anglers ceased and destinations were mapped on the water's surface by subtle wakes.

         The last time I had fished Wanahoo was a week prior. I had found a spot where the fish were stacked and this was my first cast destination. After ten minutes I deemed that spot 'fishless' and moved on. A slightly miscalculated cast and my bait was hanging over a tree limb. In classic fashion, a nice bass erupted out of the water and snatched my plastic. The fish measured 18.5" and would be the largest fish of the day for me. I messed around in the area and caught my 5 fish limit fairly easily. I moved to another spot and the fish were stacked. I landed 7 in 7 casts and a handful more after that. There was another bass tournament at the lake that day. When I started  hammering the fish one of the bass boats came over and watched me. I had a laugh and then moved on to let them try the spot. After that, fish were few and far between. About two hours before the tournament ended I found another group of fish and upgraded one on my card. I caught all my fish by recognizing certain features the bass were relating to out in the trees. Once I found what I wanted, I would slowly swim a plastic through the cover. An hour before the tournament was over I was satisfied (and tired) and 'weighed in' early. Upstream Brewery had provided some jugs of beer so I poured a cup and slumped on a picnic table and waited.  My goal had been to catch five fish. I felt like five would give me enough points to win the overall championship.

        My card of fish ended up taking 2nd in the tournament and thus helping me take 1st overall. It took some serious time and energy but in the end I accomplished what I set out to do and it felt very rewarding. I guess sometimes being obsessed with something pays off. Kayak fishing is a healthy obsession. Whether you try to win tournaments or just get some therapeutic time on the water, there is always a reward.

MKFS Journals...Bass Tales

     

         

  The June tournament for the Midwest Kayak Fishing Series was all about bass. One month to catch, photograph and release your five best bass. My personal goal for the month was to catch 5 fish measuring 21" or better. It didn't take long to realize this would be more challenging than I'd assumed. The month started with a trip to South Dakota with my fellow toads in Toads Angling Alliance. Clark, Josh and I drove through the night and pulled into the parking lot at the lake at 5 a.m. Before the truck was in park, it had already been decided....no sleep, it was time to fish!
      On the horizon, lightning flashed...warning of a coming storm. Still, as dawn broke and rain fell lightly we paddled towards the 'ridge'. Within a few minutes of the first cast we were hauling in chunky smallmouth bass and northern pike. It was ridiculous! After an hour, the storm was upon us and we were paddling like hell for shore. We sat in the truck waiting for the lightning to pass, just gushing with excitement about the great fishing we'd just experienced. As soon as the weather lifted we were back out there killing it. Now, I could go on and on and on about that trip but that is a post in itself. I will say we caught crappie, bluegill, pike, rock bass, largemouth and smallmouth bass and walleye! I also landed my personal best smallmouth, a 20" tank! It was the first bass I entered in the tournament. We made a video of the action which can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMV9YAtJWsw

  As the story went all summer, finding time to just fish was difficult. I had a whole plan hashed out including night fishing but none of that worked out. Fishing was rather slow as there were thousands of young of the year fish in the water and plenty for the hungry post-spawn bass to eat. The bass were feeding in short windows and weather cues, it was all about timing. In the first half of the month, I managed a few nice fish.  A couple near  21" fish caught on a PowerTeam Lures Swinging Hammer. I swam the bait over weedbeds and didn't have many bites but the ones I had were quality fish. There is a hint in that last sentence about catching big bass...something about low numbers of fish but good size. Anyway, I finally busted a big girl who was hanging out under the shade of a mulberry tree in the middle of the day. The cast hit and there was that big swirl on the surface, no hesitation....I leaned back and she jumped.....big. When she slid into the net I knew I had the caliber of fish I was looking for. It was unexpected in the middle of the day and I was a bit shaky as I put her on the measuring board. She went a whopping 21.75" and would end up being the second largest fish of the month for me.

         The next weekend I didn't get much time to fish. However, on a Sunday morning I happened to wake early so I headed down to the lake. I only had about an hour to fish but this little trip would be well worth it. The morning was overcast with a light drizzle and short on time, I paddled to my favorite spot on the lake. I was fishing a brushpile in 13 FOW just on the edge of a shallow flat. I casted one rod out with live bait and the other was rigged with a PowerTeam Bully Grass Devil in green/blue swirl. That particular bait has been extremely effective for me in SE Nebraska waters this year. Anyway, I cast the plastic and felt a big bite. I set the hook and immediately knew I had hooked a toad. After a fantastic aerial battle, the fish was on the measuring board. She measured 21.75"! Another beast of a norther strain largemouth and I was excited! As I was ready to release her I saw my live bait bobber go down. I dropped the big girl in my floating net and grabbed the bait rod. It was another toad, this one measuring 20.75"!  Meg was fishing close by, so after measuring the fish, I put them both in the net and kept them submerged while she prepared to take a great picture of the two fish. That hour of fishing was huge for my overall success in the tournament. It is also a testament to the fact that an hour of fishing in the right conditions can be better than a whole day on the water in the wrong conditions.

         I was now sitting on a pretty darn good card of fish for the tournament. I still wanted to give it one last go though. I met Josh out at the lake on the last weekend of the tournament and we fished hard. By midday, we'd persuaded a few 18-19" fish to bite but nothing real big. Josh called it a day and headed home. I fished for a couple hours more and caught nothing. I decided to go hit my 'magic tree' one last time. As I crawled the bully grass devil through the branches, I felt a bass suck the bait in and hammered back. Fish on! This toad let me get a good look as it made some nice head shaking jumps by the kayak. I lipped her and pulled her into the yak with a real big grin on my face. The fish measured 21.25". I now had 5 fish averaging over 21". I had for the first time in the series accomplished one my personal goals for the month and even did better. I was  completely surprised I'd been able to scratch off three fish that were larger than your average 'large' bass around here. That is fishing I guess. After that catch, I packed up and went home. I had finally reached my goal and I was done trying. My efforts would pay off with another win for the month! I humbly admit it was not easy and there was a bit of luck from the fishing gods or something but I couldn't believe how the month turned out with so many other great anglers competing and catching huge bass. Lucky and grateful would be the best words to describe how I felt after bass month. I had taken a good lead in the series, it would now come down to the live event where I would need to finish strong.