Top Water Bass May 2016
Top Water Bass 2016 Puddingstone Lake
It was a grey May day when I headed out with a top water lure tied on one rod and a small grub tied on another rod as a backup. I started out throwing the topwater lure at the North shore of Puddingstone Lake. Working my Lucky Craft Samy on top with a walking the dog retrieve, this is one of my favorite ways to fish. The visual of seeing the fish blow up on the lure is exciting.
After a couple of casts I ran into a fly-fisher who suggested a spot just 20 yards down the bank where he said a bass was chasing bait on top, I thanked him and continued casting my bait as I worked closer to the suggested spot.
When I approached the spot I made a cast beyond an area with bait fish, as I walked the lure across the surface of the water towards the circle of bait fish a bass exploded from the water onto my lure after a slight delay (an immediate hook set can pull the hook away from the bass) I set the hook and the fight began. The bass pulled very hard and went airborne a couple of times before I was able to reel it in.
Upon reeling in the bass I noticed that she was hooked outside the mouth with just one of the treble hooks in her she just swiped at the lure and got hooked giving testament to a good quality lure with very sharp (sticky hooks). Some less expensive lures may have a lesser quality hook that should be switched out or at the very least sharpened.
You can view the catch on video by clicking on the link below. https://www.instagram.com/p/BFpsgbzMAHk/
The bass weighed in on my Rapala digital scale at 3.88 pounds and was safely released to grow bigger. I do practice catch, photo and release (CPR) but have no issues with people who keep their legally caught bass.
I tried a popper and a square bill crank bait but no luck. I also tried a 3.5” paddle tail grub in my custom color I created called Pudd Punisher on a Shroomz Ned Rig jighead 1/10 oz with a weed guard. Just before taking off and I caught a small 13” bass on it with only 3-pound test it was a fun fight. Overall not a bad day for less than 2 hours of fishing. Hopefully, the top water fishing will continue.
