Yes it is…I was just kidding. Sometimes I feel like the “Hemmingway” of fishing blogs.
On a serious note (the Hemmingway part was serious!) today was going to be a real challenge. Naturally I had to do everything to keep my “streak” alive. This would be the 9th consecutive lake I have fished in this project and I have yet to be “skunked”. I have not only caught at least one fish on every lake…I have caught multiple fish on every lake. (It’s hard to be humble when you are that
Note to the uneducated. This may not seem like a big deal…I encourage you to try it. I have fished in the rain, in sun, in extreme heat, in 40-mile an hour winds, in the spring, in the summer and after frontal systems. I have fished from the bank, from a small boat and in the water from my belly boat. I have caught crappie, bass, catfish, bluegill, sunfish, saugeye and even a shad…!
But this would be different. I was taking my good friend (had to say that “good” part because he actually reads this blog…and that my friends should tell you all you need to know about him!) golfing buddy and fishing buddy Jack Vance with me. We were going to Chase State Fishing Lake located just 3.5 miles west of Cottonwood Falls, Kansas and that’s why this trip has so much more self-imposed pressure than normal. (No…not because that means I will have a witness. What’s the matter with you people?)
There are “spots” in this lake. A “spot” is a sub-species of bass that are very rare in Kansas. I grew up calling them “Kentucky” bass…it’s just another name for this incredible fish. They require deeper, clearer and rock filled water to survive. Clear rocky streams and small rivers are their normal habitat but they have successfully been transplanted to certain types of reservoirs. They can be found in abundance in Oklahoma, Missouri and Arkansas as well as many other states. But Kansas?
From an “ecology” perspective they fill a niche between the smallmouth and the largemouth. In the aging of a river system or lake system they survive in conditions where the smallmouth dies out and yet the largemouth isn’t able to become king.
I am one of the few people alive that can say (with a straight face) that they have floated the entire Gasconade River in Missouri. That’s the largest “self contained” river system in the state at approximately 245-miles long. It flows south to north because it flows through a fault line in the earth. It starts below a bridge in southern Missouri and eventually empties into the Missouri river about half way between Columbia, MO. and St. Louis.
Why do I tell you this? So you would be impressed…! Just kidding. The early part of that river is extremely clear with a white sandy bottom and white sand bars. It’s also very shallow and required hours and hours of portaging. We caught nothing but smallmouth…BIG smallmouth. The fishing was better than anything people experience up “north” like Canada or Minnesota! It’s a great “secret” so don’t tell anyone else.
As the river “aged” (caused by silting, drainage, etc.) we no longer caught smallmouth because they simply couldn’t survive in an “older” river system. The water became less clear,
We then caught largemouth bass. However, a small section of the river was a “transition” point between when smallmouth bass could no longer effectively survive but the conditions were not yet “aged” enough to support large numbers of largemouth bass. Guess what we caught? Spots/Kentucky bass! They filled the “niche” between where the smallmouth died out and the largemouth took over.
In a large lake or reservoir they are born, live, breed and die in the same area. So…once you find a school…you can fish them virtually forever. They do not move long distances like a largemouth bass. Virtually all of their daily feeding patterns involve “vertical” movements up and down from deep water…usually on a bluff or river channel bank. Thus, when you find them, you can catch them day after day on that same bluff or river channel bank. The only variable is what depth they are at on that particular day given the conditions at the time.
I have caught hundreds and hundreds of them over the years…but Jack (?)…well, he has never caught one. He has caught plenty of largemouth (well, “plenty” might be a stretch.) and even smallmouth during his annual fishing trip to Minnesota with his friends. (Note: A trip I might add in which he has never ever bothered to invite me along!) So the pressure was to not only keep my “streak” alive…but to help Jack catch his first “spot”.
Well, 2-hours later…forget the “streak”…forget Jack catching a “spot”…we just wanted to get a bite…either one of us…just so we knew there was at least one fish in the lake.
Then it happened…
Jack caught the first fish…and it was a “spot”. YEAH! I think I was happier for him than he was for himself. Goal one accomplished.
What about goal two? You know the one. Me keeping the “streak” alive. Believe me…the pressure was building!!! I’ll let you watch the video to see what happens. I will tell you this…the ending is really, really, really (okay you get the point) cool.
Footnote: There is this guy that Jack and I play golf with (not because we really want to). He so desperately wants to be my friend (That part I get!) that he text messages me constantly. So much so that I had to increase my text message capability to 300 a month to handle it. He was upset because we went fishing instead of playing golf with him. So…he text messages us all day long. At the end of the video (you know, the part that is really, really …yeah, that part.) you will hear a phone ring. Yep…it’s ole’ what’s his name…Chuck calling.
Listen, I try to be nice to everyone…even people that are annoying. In his case I don’t so much feel sorry for him as I have pity for him. He lives in a “double wide” on a golf course and has no friends. He always wants us to give him strokes when we play golf, buy him drinks before, during and after we play (That should tell you something huh!) and be his pals. I try to be nice but…did I mention annoying!
Besides being a world-class angler I am known in certain circles as a great Philosopher…most usually when conducting “controlled experiments” with certain types of liquids. Seems the more of this liquid I drink the more of a “philosopher” I become. So, I will now share with you…my adoring fans…one of Clay’s “100-Life Philosophies.”
Life Philosophy #27: I sincerely believe that (if you stop to think about it)…
“Everyone has one dumb friend”…and…you got it…
He’s mine…!
Don’t worry…he won’t ever read this…come to think about it, I’m not sure he can read. I know from playing golf with him he can’t count! Why do I bring this up? Because, he almost ruined the incredible ending (to another blockbuster fishing video) by calling at the wrong time. Come to think about it…that’s no different than normal…anytime he calls it’s the “wrong” time!
Pay attention (Don’t know why I said that…how could anyone not be paying attention?) Kentucky bass are NOT the same fish as a largemouth so they don’t react the same to their environment. Therefore, you have to fish for them differently.
My “Today’s Lesson” video (Another masterpiece of instruction I might add!) covers those differences and how you need to adjust to catch these amazing fish. Personally, I really like catching “spots” and I think you will too. I did make one error on the “Today’s Lesson” video.
In my excitement I accidently called the way I was rigging the small worm a “shaky head” when it’s actually called a “wacky worm” rig. Note that the term “shaky head” refers to a type of hook and at times a certain type of “rig”…and “wacky worm” refers to a method of rigging a worm to the “shaky head” not a specific type of worm You can use any worm on a “shaky head” hook and rig it “wacky worm” style. Get it? If so can you please explain it to me so I get it?
If you want to catch a “spot”, Chase State Fishing Lake is the place to do it…just be sure to leave your cell phone on vibrate!
Until next time…go fishing…keep some to eat…turn back the rest…check back in soon.
Clay
Web Site: www.Kansasfisherman.com
Email: clay@kansasfisherman.com
Blog: kansasfisherman.blogspot.com
He’s mine…!
Don’t worry…he won’t ever read this…come to think about it, I’m not sure he can read. I know from playing golf with him he can’t count! Why do I bring this up? Because, he almost ruined the incredible ending (to another blockbuster fishing video) by calling at the wrong time. Come to think about it…that’s no different than normal…anytime he calls it’s the “wrong” time!
Pay attention (Don’t know why I said that…how could anyone not be paying attention?) Kentucky bass are NOT the same fish as a largemouth so they don’t react the same to their environment. Therefore, you have to fish for them differently.
My “Today’s Lesson” video (Another masterpiece of instruction I might add!) covers those differences and how you need to adjust to catch these amazing fish. Personally, I really like catching “spots” and I think you will too. I did make one error on the “Today’s Lesson” video.
In my excitement I accidently called the way I was rigging the small worm a “shaky head” when it’s actually called a “wacky worm” rig. Note that the term “shaky head” refers to a type of hook and at times a certain type of “rig”…and “wacky worm” refers to a method of rigging a worm to the “shaky head” not a specific type of worm You can use any worm on a “shaky head” hook and rig it “wacky worm” style. Get it? If so can you please explain it to me so I get it?
If you want to catch a “spot”, Chase State Fishing Lake is the place to do it…just be sure to leave your cell phone on vibrate!
Until next time…go fishing…keep some to eat…turn back the rest…check back in soon.
Clay
Web Site: www.Kansasfisherman.com
Email: clay@kansasfisherman.com
Blog: kansasfisherman.blogspot.com
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