Category: Perry Lake

SPRING YOUTH TEAM SERIES

The 2018-19 Kansas Bass Youth Team Series came to an end this last Sunday. It was a tough finish to the season. Weather and high water were big factors to the last two events on Grand Lake and Perry.

On March 3rd, we fished Grand Lake in Oklahoma. Boys threw big spinnerbaits behind docks most of the day. Never could find a bite. They fished really hard in the cold conditions. There were not any fish weighed in on the youth side. Only thing we would have done different was fish more docks with spinnerbaits covering a lot of water. Best thing about the trip was spending some time with family on Melissa’s side. One quote from the tournament that Nick said after he saw some bait on the surface. “Dad if we catch a live shad and kill it, its not live bait anymore so we can use it.” It doesn’t work that way I told the boys.

April 7 event was on Perry with high water and changing weather put the fish on lip jaw. The boys mostly fished finesse baits and crankbaits during the tournament. There was one youth team that weighed in a really nice smallmouth to take first place. No other team weighed a fish in out of 11 boats. It was another tough event, but that’s fishing. You have to learn how to catch fish in any type of conditions.

So only one event left for the 2018-19 season. The Kansas BASS Youth Team Championship on May 4 and 5 on Wilson Lake. It will be a two day event. There will be eight teams fishing the event for the right to represent Kansas at B.A.S.S. Nation Youth Championship in Tennessee.

Tackle Review: Z Man Finesse TRD

I would like to talk about one of the best baits and techniques over the last couple of years. I thought for awhile that it is maybe the only bait you needed. But, I learned that it is just another technique you need to add to your arsenal. The Ned Rig; it is an incredible bait. Some people cut stickbaits in half and use a light mushroom style jighead. I started using Z Man products. I like the Z Man Finesse TRD and Finesse Mushroomz Jig head.

The first time I fished and introduced it to my boys was a trip out to a western Kansas lake. I had only two packages of PB&J and 1/15oz. jighead. Twins were like “There’s not much to it.” We were actually pre-fishing for an upcoming tournament. It didn’t take long for the boys to fall in love with this little bait. The twins caught four smallmouth over 3 pounds and three big wipers in the 5 to 7 pound range. They wouldn’t let me fish it on the trip. They wanted the bait all to themselves. That week on four trips, we caught 300 fish. The boys tournament was cancelled due to bad weather.

But, I had an upcoming tournament on Melvern so I was ready with two spinning rods rigged with Z Man Finesse TRD PB&J and 1/15oz. Finesse Mushroomz Jig head. I had one rig with Sunline Sniper FC 7lb test and the other with Sunline Braided. I had found some fish that Thursday with the Ned rig. So, when the tournament started, I headed to my best spot. I pulled up to the spot and a couple of casts in, I caught a keeper smallmouth. The next cast, I had a good largemouth bass take my TRD off a hanging limb. After 10 more minutes, I had a limit with two over 17 inches. It was a great start.  My non-boater had moved to the bait, and he had two fish. We would go on to catch 45 fish that day with my best five being 14.97lb.

Since then we have caught a lot of fish and even one of my son’s personnel best 6.02lbs largemouth was on TRD using Powertackle SPN43-70 rod with Sunline Sniper FC 7lb. Powertackle rods are known for flipping big bass into the boat down in Texas. Their spinning rod has incredible action and feel for the Ned rig and other finesse baits. It is the only spinning rod in my boat.

The Z Man Finesse TRD comes in 22 different colors. I keep it simple, and stay with about 4 colors PB&J, The Deal, Mud Minnow and Green Pumpkin. I like to start with PB&J early in the season as it imitates a crawfish. Then when fish start keying in on baitfish, I will throw The Deal and Mud Minnow. Green Pumpkin is just a great color to imitate bluegill.

The most important part of this presentation is the size of jig you use. I use 1/15oz. most of the time. If I want to swim it or have a faster presentation, I will upgrade to 1/10oz. or even the 1/6oz. Now, if you fish from the bank or ponds, use the smallest jighead 1/20oz. and 1/15oz. This bait will catch any species.  We have caught some really big walleye on it. This is a great bait to use for kids to fish, tournament fisherman, and fun fishing. Everytime I take kids fishing for the first time, this bait is always tied on their pole. So, next time you go fishing pick up some Z Man Finesse TRD and Mushroomz Jighead and give it a try. It is an incredible bait.

 

Just the Three of Us!

It was a sad evening. Twins choose to go to the middle school football game over fishing. So, Trey and my wife had to go fishing with me. I decided to go to Perry because it is a great lake for kids right know. You can get on any point right now and catch white bass.. They are not big; but a lot of action. Any crankbaits, lipless crankbaits and topwater will work. This evening, River2Sea Whopper Plopper 90 was the best bait. I was throwing the bigger Whopper Plopper 130 which makes a lot more noise then the 90. The twins love it when I’m throwing the bigger one because they will throw the 90 right behind me and hook up. The 130 can of get them to react and to feed. I will talk more about the bait in the coming weeks. If you aren’t throwing the River2Sea Whopper Plopper, you are missing out. Even a 5 year old can hookup. It is a great bait for kids and beginners.  All you do is reel. Trey was awesome in the video. I love watching the video clips of Trey fishing with me. I hope you enjoy them to.

Fishing Fundraiser On Perry

I decided to fish a fundraiser this last weekend on Perry for K-State Fishing Team with a friend. I did a little pre-fishing, and it was tough.  I was able to catch one 3 pound smallmouth of a main lake point. I decided to start on main lake points with plastics. It was supposed to be a very nice day, but it started cold and a north wind was on the spot. After just one bite, we moved to the next point in the area. I would catch 4 non-keeper smallmouth on 5 casts. Being a big fish contest with 4 weighing periods, we needed to find some bigger fish. We moved around the lake trying docks, the marina, and the back of pockets. We didn’t have any luck for several hours. Then we went to fish some wood, and was able to catch one more non-keeper smallmouth on a swimming jig. We had heard that the big fish was 5.12lb and several more 5 pounders were weighted in. I probably ran around the lake more then I have ever before. We never could find any more fish. My friend was able late in the day to hook up with a fish on a crankbait. I thought we finally had a fish we could weigh in. NO, IT WAS A DRUM!! We decided to call it a day.  It was nice to hangout with a friend I had not fished with in 4 years. K-State put on a nice tournament. One thing about fishing, there is always a next time.